The women's basketball team isn't wasting any time warming up this season.
With an 84-64 win over Gordon on Thursday, the Jumbos have pushed their record to 5-0, jumping to the best record of any Tufts winter team as they prepare for a strong second-half schedule.
Leading the Jumbos on the scoreboard was junior Jessica Powers, whose 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals sparked the team on both ends of the court.
Classmate Julia Verplank nabbed her first double-double with a season-high 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Sophomore Valerie Krah, quickly becoming this season's sixth-man threat, finished with 18 points and senior co-captain Erin Connolly added 10 to the cause.
All four of these double-digit scorers shot at least 50 percent from the floor, despite some unfriendly rims early in the game. In the first half, the Jumbos shot only 32.4 percent from the floor as a team, well below their season average of 46.6 percent.
The Jumbos' shaky shooting allowed the Fighting Scots to keep the game close in the first half. Gordon closed a 10-point Jumbo lead to a 33-31 margin at halftime on a buzzer-beater from senior co-captain Sara DeLuca. The 2003-2004 All-American Honorable Mention and Commonwealth Coast Conference Player of the Year came up with several key plays to keep the Jumbos on their toes en route to a game-high 28 points and 10 rebounds.
"The problem in the first half was that we weren't hitting our shots," coach Carla Berube said. "That happens sometimes when you play on someone else's court, but in the second half we got much more aggressive and they started falling for us."
The Fighting Scots kept their momentum in the opening minutes of the second half, going ahead on a layup be DeLuca to lead Tufts 36-35. However, two foul shots by Verplank put the Jumbos back in familiar territory and Tufts never trailed again. In what has become a standard feature of the team's season, Tufts reeled off a 30-8 run in the next 10 minutes, combining outstanding shooting with stifling defense to overwhelm the Fighting Scots.
The run was evidence not only of the Jumbos' skill, but also of their mental focus in not allowing Gordon's brief surge to take hold.
"This just proved what a strong team we are," senior co-captain Alison Love said. "We can continue to play our game through [opposing teams'] runs and stay together."
The Jumbos turned up their defensive effort, which has been the key to their success this season. Verplank pulled down five rebounds as the Jumbos hit the boards, and back-to-back steals resulted in a three-point play from Powers which capped the run.
Despite calling two timeouts, Gordon was unable to overcome the Jumbos' momentum, and by the time the Fighting Scots scored on a three-pointer with seven minutes remaining, the Jumbos led 65-44 and the damage had been done.
With Thursday's win, the Jumbos have amassed a great deal of momentum heading into winter break. They have won their first five games in decisive manners, outscoring their opponents by an average of 35 points and racking up almost 80 points per game.
Most people would be surprised if they had not. The Jumbos are using the first half of their schedule as a warm-up for some big-time games against big-time teams in January, and have yet to be really challenged on the court.
The squad will face a real test when it returns from winter break - three weeks before the rest of Tufts students - to take on nationally-ranked Southern Maine, Emmanuel and Brandeis.
Today, the team heads to Wheaton to battle the Lyons in non-league play. Tufts came away last season with a 76-66 win, but only after surviving a late run by Wheaton, and the Jumbos just barely squeaked out a 66-64 victory in 2002-03.
"We want to come out strong [against Wheaton] and get up early," Berube said. "We're off for three weeks, then come back and have a really tough stretch, so this is a really important week for us."
