READING, Pa. – Senior Emily O'Donnell notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, but No. 2 Amherst defeated No. 20 Albright 57-42 in a non-conference game on Monday in the Bollman Center.

Amherst used a big run over the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter to pull away from the Lions.

Albright, which trailed by as many as 14 points in first half, rallied to take the lead. Shannon Thomas capped a 7-0 Albright run with a three-pointer, which put the Lions in front 28-27 with 4:45 to play in the third quarter.

Amherst, which improved to 10-0 on the season, regained the lead when Hannah Hackley made two free throws with 3:55 to play in the third.

Amherst outscored Albright 11-2 over the remainder of the quarter to take a 40-30 lead after three periods.

Kelecia Harris cut the lead to 40-32 with a layup with 7:46 to play in the game, but Amherst responded with a 10-0 run to take a 50-32 lead with 4:58 remaining in the final quarter.

Albright closed to within 54-42 on a three-pointer by Thomas with 54 seconds remaining, but could not get the deficit under 10 for the remainder of the contest.

Amherst shot just 31.5 percent from the floor, but committed only 14 turnovers and made 16-of-18 free throw attempts to remain undefeated on the season.

Jaimie Renner led Amherst with a game-high 20 points, while Hackley had 12 points and Ali Doswell finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and two steals.

Albright, which suffered its first loss of the season and dropped to 11-1 overall, shot a season-low 27.7 percent from the floor and also made only 14-of-23 free throw attempts. The Lions also turned the ball over 22 times and committed 22 fouls.

Harris, the Lions leading scorer, was saddled with foul difficulty throughout the contest and finished with four points and four rebounds.

Thomas had nine points for the Lions, while Alysha Lofton had seven points and 10 rebounds. Nina Mazzarelli added five points, while Devan Horka added four points off the bench.

After a free throw and a basket by Harris tied the score at 3-3, Amherst responded with a 9-0 run capped by a three-pointer by Meredith Doswell to take a 12-3 lead with 1:40 remaining in the opening quarter.

Mazzarelli ended the run with a free throw, but Renner drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer giving Amherst a 15-4 lead after the first quarter.

Renner opened the second quarter with a three-pointer as Amherst took its largest lead of the first half at 18-4 with 9:39 to play.

A Renner layup gave Amherst a 20-9 lead with 8:05 to play before halftime, but the Lions would respond.

Lofton made a pair of free throws and Thomas converted a three-point play that trimmed the Amherst lead to 20-14 with 5:50 to play in the second quarter.

Jackie Nagle scored inside for Amherst to up the lead to 25-16, but the Lions closed the second quarter with a 3-0 run to trim the deficit to 25-19 at the intermission.

O'Donnell opened the scoring in the third quarter with a pair of free throws, but Renner answered with a layup for Amherst to increase the lead to 27-21 with 6:28 to play in the third.

O'Donnell scored off of an assist by Jane Joyce to cut the lead to 27-23 and Joyce brought the Lions to within 27-25 with 5:46 left in the quarter off a steal and a layup.

Thomas then drained a three-pointer giving Albright its second lead of the game at 28-27 with 4:45 to play in the third, but Amherst responded with its game-deciding run.

Albright returns to MAC Commonwealth action on Wednesday (Jan. 6) when it hosts Widener at 6 p.m. in the Bollman Center.