After an unexpected 5-2 start to the season, the Jumbos have rebounded with eight straight victories, including four consecutive wins against conference opponents this year.After a 61-55 loss to Conn. College, the team took an extended break before resuming the season on Dec. 29 at Baruch, where Tufts held its opponent to just 35 points over two halves. The Jumbos forced 26 turnovers in a victory where 10 different players scored.
"The loss to Conn I think provided a great moment for our team," senior tri-captain guard Nicole Brooks said. "It was a hard fought game right to the end, and when you lose a close game like that it's something you won't forget for a while. Since Conn was the last game we had before break it has really sparked the energy and reminded us that we don't ever want to feel that way again."
The team then participated in the Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic over Jan. 2-3, defeating the hosts Springfield College 51-43 in the championship game.
Senior tri-captain guard Emma Roberson and sophomore point guard Lauren Dillon were both named to the 2016 Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic All-Tournament Team, and Roberson was crowned the Most Valuable Player of the Classic after an eight point, eight rebound effort in the championship game.In their final non-conference game prior to entering NESCAC play on Jan. 5, Tufts notched an easy 59-40 win against Babson with the help of sophomore forward Melissa Baptista's 15 points in 23 minutes.In the NESCAC opener on Jan. 8, Tufts found itself matched up against Bowdoin - the team who had handily defeated Tufts 61-43 in a blowout in just their third game of the season in a non-conference matchup.In that first Dec. 5 game against the Polar Bears, the Jumbos scored the first four baskets and held the Polar Bears scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, but the Polar Bears needed just 85 seconds to level the score at 8-8 after back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore guard Kate Kerrigan and junior guard Marle Curle. Senior co-captain forward Shannon Brady ended the quarter with a three-point play to pull her team ahead by one after the first 10 minutes of the game.It was a lead the Polar Bears would not relinquish, outscoring the Jumbos 26-10 in the second quarter and 15-7 in the fourth to cap off their runaway 61-43 victory against the Jumbos. Roberson scored 18 points in the loss off a commendable 8-of-16 from the field, one of only two members of the starting lineup to score more than seven points. Baptista put up eight points in 13 shot attempts.The team as a whole shot just 31 percent from the field, and a measly 20 percent from beyond the arc despite out-rebounding Bowdoin 38-36 and attempting 58 shots to Bowdoin's 51.
"In the Bowdoin game we didn't play with the fire that we were capable of," Brooks said. "When you face great NESCAC teams and don't come out strong from the start there is always that chance that you won't come away with a win, especially when you're playing an away game."
When the rematch came just over a month later, however, Tufts set the tone from the beginning. The Jumbos outscored the Polar Bears 16-7 in the first quarter and later staved off a late Bowdoin rally to take a 53-50 victory at Morrell Gymnasium.
Both teams were hit with early foul trouble throughout the opening half, racking up a combined 21 fouls in 20 minutes of game play. Tufts still held a narrow 25-20 lead going into the half.Bowdoin trailed by seven points heading into the fourth, and Tufts pulled further ahead by opening the period on a 8-2 surge, fueled by seven consecutive points from senior foward Maura Folliard. The Jumbos held their largest lead of the game, 49-36, with 7:28 to go.
The Polar Bears began to catch up on the Jumbos' lead with the return of Brady, who had been sidelined with foul trouble. After blocking junior center Michela North's shot, Brady converted a layup on the other end before scoring another six straight points - three back-to-back layups - to cut Tufts' lead to just three.After a layup by Curle, the Polar Bears closed the gap to 49-48 with 3:18 remaining. Folliard then missed a 3-pointer, but a costly foul by Curle resulted in a North layup to give Tufts a 51-48 lead. Bowdoin took a 30 second timeout with 2:06 left in the ball game in order to draw up a play for Brady , who converted her layup off an assist by junior forward Ally Silfen to cut Tufts' lead to one, 51-50.
With just 1:33 remaining, Brady fouled out of the game with her fifth personal foul, but Bowdoin had another chance off a Roberson turnover 12 seconds later. Almost immediately, Kerrigan turned the ball back over but Folliard missed the 3-pointer that would have given her team the two possession lead. With 21 seconds left, Roberson had a chance to seal the game at the free throw line for Tufts, but missed both chances. Roberson managed to grab her own offensive rebound and force another Bowdoin foul to give herself another chance to win the game at the line for her team. She made the most of her second chance, hitting both for the 53-50 win.
"We played much better defensively this time in Brunswick by containing their guards and contesting the 3 point shot," coach Carla Berube said. "Our posts did a much better job defending Shannon Brady inside too. I also thought our bench really stepped up, Maura Folliard had a huge game for us."
Much like their first match up, Tufts won the battle on the boards with 43 rebounds to Bowdoin's 32, with 13 from North alone, who added another 13 points.The next day, North recorded her third double-double in a week with 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks in Tufts' 54-45 victory against Colby for the team's second straight NESCAC victory.After averaging 14.7 both in points and rebounds per game, with five blocks and a strong 16 for 20 from the free throw line (.800), North received NESCAC and USBWA Player of the Week honors.
"I think we're a much different team than we were on Dec. 12," Berube said. "Here we are eight games later and we're playing much better on the defensive end of the floor, we've cut down on our turnovers and we're making more plays for each other on offense. We have a much better sense of who we are."
Despite its strong start to their conference schedule, with two more runaway victories against Middlebury, 57-37, and Hamilton, 66-39, the team is already looking forward to avenging another early season loss to Conn. College on Saturday, Jan. 23.
"I think we've come a long way since the loss to Conn. College and we'll be better prepared for them the next time we play them," North said. "We are all very excited to have a rematch of that game and so we've been working on our weaknesses and challenging ourselves each day in practice."
"The loss to Conn I think provided a great moment for our team," senior tri-captain guard Nicole Brooks said. "It was a hard fought game right to the end, and when you lose a close game like that it's something you won't forget for a while. Since Conn was the last game we had before break it has really sparked the energy and reminded us that we don't ever want to feel that way again."
The team then participated in the Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic over Jan. 2-3, defeating the hosts Springfield College 51-43 in the championship game.
Senior tri-captain guard Emma Roberson and sophomore point guard Lauren Dillon were both named to the 2016 Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic All-Tournament Team, and Roberson was crowned the Most Valuable Player of the Classic after an eight point, eight rebound effort in the championship game.In their final non-conference game prior to entering NESCAC play on Jan. 5, Tufts notched an easy 59-40 win against Babson with the help of sophomore forward Melissa Baptista's 15 points in 23 minutes.In the NESCAC opener on Jan. 8, Tufts found itself matched up against Bowdoin - the team who had handily defeated Tufts 61-43 in a blowout in just their third game of the season in a non-conference matchup.In that first Dec. 5 game against the Polar Bears, the Jumbos scored the first four baskets and held the Polar Bears scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, but the Polar Bears needed just 85 seconds to level the score at 8-8 after back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore guard Kate Kerrigan and junior guard Marle Curle. Senior co-captain forward Shannon Brady ended the quarter with a three-point play to pull her team ahead by one after the first 10 minutes of the game.It was a lead the Polar Bears would not relinquish, outscoring the Jumbos 26-10 in the second quarter and 15-7 in the fourth to cap off their runaway 61-43 victory against the Jumbos. Roberson scored 18 points in the loss off a commendable 8-of-16 from the field, one of only two members of the starting lineup to score more than seven points. Baptista put up eight points in 13 shot attempts.The team as a whole shot just 31 percent from the field, and a measly 20 percent from beyond the arc despite out-rebounding Bowdoin 38-36 and attempting 58 shots to Bowdoin's 51.
"In the Bowdoin game we didn't play with the fire that we were capable of," Brooks said. "When you face great NESCAC teams and don't come out strong from the start there is always that chance that you won't come away with a win, especially when you're playing an away game."
When the rematch came just over a month later, however, Tufts set the tone from the beginning. The Jumbos outscored the Polar Bears 16-7 in the first quarter and later staved off a late Bowdoin rally to take a 53-50 victory at Morrell Gymnasium.
Both teams were hit with early foul trouble throughout the opening half, racking up a combined 21 fouls in 20 minutes of game play. Tufts still held a narrow 25-20 lead going into the half.Bowdoin trailed by seven points heading into the fourth, and Tufts pulled further ahead by opening the period on a 8-2 surge, fueled by seven consecutive points from senior foward Maura Folliard. The Jumbos held their largest lead of the game, 49-36, with 7:28 to go.
The Polar Bears began to catch up on the Jumbos' lead with the return of Brady, who had been sidelined with foul trouble. After blocking junior center Michela North's shot, Brady converted a layup on the other end before scoring another six straight points - three back-to-back layups - to cut Tufts' lead to just three.After a layup by Curle, the Polar Bears closed the gap to 49-48 with 3:18 remaining. Folliard then missed a 3-pointer, but a costly foul by Curle resulted in a North layup to give Tufts a 51-48 lead. Bowdoin took a 30 second timeout with 2:06 left in the ball game in order to draw up a play for Brady , who converted her layup off an assist by junior forward Ally Silfen to cut Tufts' lead to one, 51-50.
With just 1:33 remaining, Brady fouled out of the game with her fifth personal foul, but Bowdoin had another chance off a Roberson turnover 12 seconds later. Almost immediately, Kerrigan turned the ball back over but Folliard missed the 3-pointer that would have given her team the two possession lead. With 21 seconds left, Roberson had a chance to seal the game at the free throw line for Tufts, but missed both chances. Roberson managed to grab her own offensive rebound and force another Bowdoin foul to give herself another chance to win the game at the line for her team. She made the most of her second chance, hitting both for the 53-50 win.
"We played much better defensively this time in Brunswick by containing their guards and contesting the 3 point shot," coach Carla Berube said. "Our posts did a much better job defending Shannon Brady inside too. I also thought our bench really stepped up, Maura Folliard had a huge game for us."
Much like their first match up, Tufts won the battle on the boards with 43 rebounds to Bowdoin's 32, with 13 from North alone, who added another 13 points.The next day, North recorded her third double-double in a week with 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks in Tufts' 54-45 victory against Colby for the team's second straight NESCAC victory.After averaging 14.7 both in points and rebounds per game, with five blocks and a strong 16 for 20 from the free throw line (.800), North received NESCAC and USBWA Player of the Week honors.
Yet despite North’s growing prowess on the court, as evidenced by her first NESCAC Player of the Week honors, she insists that the biggest improvement she has made has been bringing up the morale and energy of the team.
"I think I've been doing a better job of bringing energy and excitement to all our games [and] I want the team to get pumped on great plays and show how much we want it," North said. "My leadership skills have definitely improved and I think I've been more vocal and commanding on the court."In the 2014-15 season, it was not until March 20 that the Jumbos saw their second loss of the season. But this season the team dropped two games within three weeks of the start of the season - with both losses coming at the hands of NESCAC opponents Bowdoin and Conn. College in non-conference games."I think we're a much different team than we were on Dec. 12," Berube said. "Here we are eight games later and we're playing much better on the defensive end of the floor, we've cut down on our turnovers and we're making more plays for each other on offense. We have a much better sense of who we are."
Despite its strong start to their conference schedule, with two more runaway victories against Middlebury, 57-37, and Hamilton, 66-39, the team is already looking forward to avenging another early season loss to Conn. College on Saturday, Jan. 23.
"I think we've come a long way since the loss to Conn. College and we'll be better prepared for them the next time we play them," North said. "We are all very excited to have a rematch of that game and so we've been working on our weaknesses and challenging ourselves each day in practice."
