The Little III

• Both Amherst and Williams are members of the Little III, a mini-conference that features the two Massachusetts schools and Connecticut rival Wesleyan. The winner of the round robin trivalry takes home the coveted Little III title in each respective sport.
• Of the 81 titles bestowed since inaugural competition in the 1914-15 season, Williams leads with 26 men's basketball crowns. Amherst follows with 18 and Wesleyan claims 17. There have been eight three-way ties and five two-way ties between Amherst and Williams.
• The quest for the women's Little III title began in the 1977-78 season with the first of seven Williams victories. Amherst has nabbed six crowns as Wesleyan has won two. There has been one three-way ties and three two-way ties between Amherst and Williams.
• Wesleyan and Williams have already met once this season as the Ephs defeated the Cardinal men 98-56 in Williamstown and the Williams women won 78-64 at Wesleyan. They will close out Little III competition on Saturday, February 21 with the men in Middletown and the women in Williamstown in 3:00pm contests.

Amherst Women's Basketball: 9-5

• Currently fielding a 9-5 record, the Jeffs boast a tenacious defense that has held opponents to 36% shooting while forcing 22 turnovers a game. Amherst averages over 11 steals and almost three blocks a game.
• The Jeffs are coming off a 73-60 loss to second-ranked Middlebury last night. The Panthers had taken an early lead before a jumper by Naomi Sullivan (Hudson, MA) gave Amherst its first advantage midway through the first half. The teams battled through six lead changes before the break, after which the Panthers mounted a 13-2 run to break open the game. Senior Sarah Rinaldi (Washington, DC) scored a season-high 21 points to lead the Jeffs while Sullivan pulled down nine rebounds and dished out four assists.
• Junior tri-captain Janinne Noel (Dalton, MA) has elevated her game to re-claim a starting spot and lead the Jeffs on the perimeter. Noel is Amherst's career 3-point field goal leader and the only woman to hit over 100 from behind the arc. Bolstered by her six-trey show at Springfield for a career-high 23 points, the guard has 124 3-pointers and holds the record for most in a single game with six. Noel has averaged 10.6 points, 2.4 steals and 2.2 assists a game since her last meeting with the Ephs.
• Junior Katie Hersey (Westford, MA) leads the attack both on the floor and on the glass. The tri-captain averages 14.6 points per game and leads the team with 8.9 rebounds per game. She has registered eight double-doubles this season and 22 in her collegiate career, including a 25-point, 12-rebound performance at Babson. Hersey leads the team with 31 steals.
• Rinaldi powers the Jeffs on the blocks, averaging 13.0 points and 7.0 boards per game. The senior is complemented by rookie forward Deirdre McCarthy (Oradell, NJ) who pulled down five boards in her first meeting with the Ephs. Meanwhile, Sullivan has the versatility of a shooting guard and a post-player, putting up 7.1 points a game. She leads the team with 3.0 assists each contest. She has also swatted seven shots and intercepted 25 passes this season.
• Amherst and Williams have already met once this season as the Ephs claimed a 71-65 victory. Amherst had taken a 26-25 lead into halftime after leading by as much as 10, and the Jeffs battled to the buzzer behind the leadership of its tri-captains, who accounted for 37 of the Jeffs' 39 second half points.

Amherst Men's Basketball: 13-0

• The Amherst men enter the match as one of only four teams still undefeated in Division III. With a 13-0 record, the Jeffs are off to their best start ever in the history of Amherst basketball. The former best was a 10-0 start in the 1995-96 season, a mark achieved with their 79-68 thrashing of the Ephs two weeks ago in LeFrak.
• Holding onto the No. 1 spot in the Northeast, the Jeffs have risen to No. 3 in the nation in the Columbus Multimedia poll and No. 5 in the country according to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). No. 3 is the Jeffs' highest national ranking ever.
• The Jeffs are currently outscoring opponents by 17.8 points per game, averaging 87 points in each showing as one of the most prolific teams in the nation. Amherst forces 17 turnovers a game while they make nine steals and 3.3 blocks each time they hit the court. The Jeffs are hitting close to half their shots, including shooting 40% from behind the arc.
• The Jeffs are coming off a nailbiting 71-68 victory at Middlebury last night. Despite shooting 57% in the first half, Amherst trailed by 13 at the break, the first time this season the Jeffs have not led at halftime. But a career high 27 points on 10-for-11 shooting by senior center Billy Skorupski (North Hatfield, MA) powered the Jeffs to lucky win number 13.
• A deep bench has been the key to Amherst's success. The Jeffs rotated 10 men against Williams while the Ephs called on only two subs in their loss in LeFrak. After an opening basket by Williams, Amherst never trailed as the Lord Jeff lead grew to as much as 13 midway through the second half. The Jeffs made 10 steals and swatted five shots to claim only their second victory over Williams in the 1990s (see box score attached).
• Amherst's man in the paint is senior tri-captain Skorupski, who puts up 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. The tri-captain has registered a pair of double-doubles since his last meeting with Williams, and his 18 blocks lead the Lord Jeffs.
• The perimeter game looks to the sharp-shooting of a foursome of guards, sophomores Pat Mulvey (Rye, NH) and Hugh Quattlebaum (Andover, MA), junior Chris Ingraham (Tuscon, AZ), and senior tri-captain Julian "Bubba" Rowand (Washington, DC). The group has combined for 50 steals and can hit the 3- with 43% accuracy to rally the Amherst offense.
• Caith Chapman (Maumee, OH) and rookie Brian Daoust (Dover, MA) have switched off running the point with nearly a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Chapman leads the Jeffs with 16 steals, while the defensive intensity of Daoust, also a starting cornerback and the Rookie of the Year for Lord Jeff football, has forced turnovers while disrupting opposing half-court offenses.
• John Pavelski (Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ) leads the team with 15.5 points per game as Amherst's 7th all-time leading scorer with 1,257 points. The tri-captain is also second on the career 3-point shooting list with 169, 30 shy of breaking the all-time record. However, the tri-captain suffered a severe ankle sprain early in the second half against Trinity, though he is expected to return as a starting forward today.
• Head Coach David Hixon will be coaching his 501st career game in Williamstown. Hixon, a 1975 graduate of Amherst College, is the winningest basketball coach at his alma mater and the only one to reach 300 wins. In his 21st season of coaching, Hixon is 329-171 (65.8%).