Before the start of the season, the women's basketball focused on a word: stifling.
Long a defense-oriented unit with a recent penchant for producing NESCAC Defensive Players of the Year, the Jumbos were presented with a daunting challenge entering this season. Colleen Hart (E 11), the program's all-time leading scorer, and Vanessa Miller (LA 11), a speedy guard who established a conference-wide reputation as a lockdown defensive pest, had graduated.
The go-to players on both ends were gone. The solution?
Stifle to overcome. Pressure — and then run — to win.
Faced with adversity, things have worked out pretty well for head coach Carla Berube's squad. The Jumbos (21-6) are gearing up for the first-ever NCAA Tournament game on the Tufts campus when the Misericordia Cougars come to Cousens Gym on Friday. Tufts is fourth in Div. III in scoring defense and has held nine teams to fewer than 40 points, including Conn. College's comically low 21-point output on Jan. 21.
"[Defense is] our focus, and it's always been, it always will be," Berube said. "I'm proud of our accomplishments that we've had this year with our defense. We knew that was going to be key to our success, not having major scorers."
Perhaps most indicative of the tradition instilled in the program, senior guard Tiffany Kornegay yesterday became the fifth straight Jumbo to win the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year award, joining Miller (twice), Kim Moynihan (LA 09) and KhalilahUmmah (LA 08) atop the pantheon of Berube products.
"Coach instills the importance of defense in every season she coaches," Kornegay said. "That's our bread and butter. That's how we win games. That's what we're known for."
Inquire about the Jumbos' defensive success, and they'll throw out a litany of cliched attributes to describe the source. Heart. Chemistry. Intensity. But by no means is this approach anything new for Tufts. The Jumbos ranked 11th nationally in scoring defense last season. Vaulting into the top 10 took a corny YouTube clip to put things in perspective.
In early December, senior co-captain forward Kate Barnosky directed the Jumbos to a video showcasing the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons. The NBA Champions were a balanced, well-oiled machine with only one All-Star, bucking the perceived "magic formula" of surrounding superstars with a supporting cast.
Indeed, Tufts fits that offensive archetype, which makes defense all the more important. No player is averaging double-digit points per game — Barnosky leads the way with 9.1 — but nine are averaging at least 5.4. The game plan is causal, the execution swift: defend players, not sets; limit opponents to one contested shot, grab the rebound and turn it into a track meet.
For tangible results, just look to Kornegay, who took over defensively in the second half of Tufts' NESCAC semifinal win over Bowdoin, finishing with seven steals. The 5-foot-6 "game-changer," according to her coach, ranks second in the league in rebounding — the other members of the top five are, on average, 6-foot-1 — and third in steals. Only Bowdoin senior Jill Henrikson, a first-team all-NESCAC selection, ranks in the top 10 in both categories.
"That's my favorite part of the game," Kornegay said. "I know I can intimidate and frazzle people on offense if I'm in their face. I have long arms, I have big hands. Really taking players out of their game is the fun part for me."
"She has great hands, great instincts," said Barnosky, who was named second-team all-NESCAC yesterday alongside Kornegay. "We operate on a system. I've got the box out, she'll get the rebound for me. It's worked out pretty well. We make up one person together."
As Tuesday's practice wrapped up with some scrimmaging, Berube stood on the sideline, a paper folded hot-dog style in her shorts, hands clasped behind her back. After a particularly lackluster defensive effort from her starters, Berube barked at those wearing black practice jerseys to pick up their defense. It was a verbal energy shot; the starters swarmed post entries and clogged passing lanes. They just needed a little nudge to return to the Jumbos' way.
Three minutes into a later scrimmage littered with shot clock violations and steals, Berube ordered her players to look at the scoreboard.
It read 0-0.
