Amherst girls hoops finish regular season strong

Amherst Central's girls basketball team seems to peaking at the right time.

The Lady Tigers closed out its regular season with league wins over Lake Shore, 53-28, on Thursday and West Seneca East, 50-21, on Friday.

Amherst finished the regular season 6-6 in ECIC II and 8-10 overall.

"During the final three league games of the season, we have really moved the ball well and had some great defensive stands," said Amherst coach JoAnna Fildes. "I think at this point we have really started to click with all members of the team. Our outside shots have started to fall and we have rebounded well in the paint on both ends of the court."

It was senior night against Lake Shore and Amherst seniors Elizabeth Reid and Shannon McGuire stepped up, scoring 13 and 10 points, respectively. Senior Mollie Lang, Stephine Woods and Jodi Battaglia had strong defensive and offensive games, Fildes said.

"Our seniors really have stepped up their game at the most important time of the season," she added.

All five seniors were honored following the game.

Junior Jennifer Newhouse pounded out nine points in the paint.

Reid's 12, Lang's 10 and McGuire's eight points paced the Lady Tigers over West Seneca East.

Amherst, seeded 10th in the Section VI Class A-1 Tournament, played at seventh-seed Starpoint on Tuesday but results were unavailable before The Bee went to press. The winner plays at 7 p.m. Thursday at Kenmore East (16-4).