The Jumbos finally had a close game, but in the end the result was the same as it has been all season. Despite trailing by three points at halftime, the women's basketball team rallied in the second half to come away with a 67-60 victory at Wheaton on Monday. It was the sixth straight win for Tufts (6-0), marking the best start for the Jumbos since a 7-0 run to open the 1991-92 season.
"It was surprising," coach Carla Berube said of the game's close score. "It was not our best game; it was probably one of the worst first halves we've played in awhile."
The game was close throughout the first half, and with five and a half minutes to go the score was knotted at 21. From there Wheaton took advantage of sloppy ball handling by the Jumbos to take the lead at the half. A runner in the lane by Kim McCormack secured the 30-27 advantage for the Lyons.
"We weren't playing our brand of basketball," Berube said. "We weren't playing with the kind of intensity that we need to, and that we expect."
Tufts trailed at the half despite out-shooting Wheaton 55 percent to 39 percent. The Jumbos were hurt by 17 first half turnovers, which allowed Wheaton to take 11 more shots.
"Wheaton played very hard," Berube said. "They were getting to the loose balls and getting in the passing lanes, and we just weren't taking care of [the ball]."
Like they have been doing all season, the Jumbos responded with a huge second half run, outscoring Wheaton 27-6 over the first ten minutes and change of the half. That spurt pushed the Tufts lead well into double digits, but the Lyons responded with an 11-2 run of their own to trim the lead to nine. Berube commented on the team's streakiness after the game.
"We've been playing that way," she said. "We need to do a better job of stopping our opponents' runs. Whether we're really streaky, or just get into a little bit of a lull, that needs to change."
Tufts scored enough down the stretch to keep Wheaton out of striking distance and come away with the seven point win. The Jumbos turned the ball over just five times in the second half, while holding Wheaton to just 31 percent shooting.
Junior Jessica Powers led the Jumbos with a game-high 25 points on eight of 14 shooting and three of four from three point range. Sophomore Valerie Krah continued her strong play off the bench, contributing 18 points and three steals, and shooting a perfect three of three on three pointers. Krah has shot better than 52 percent from three point range in Tufts' season-opening six-game winning streak. McCormack and Kate Williams led Wheaton with 12 points each.
The Jumbos look to remain perfect in their non-conference schedule Thursday night, when they travel to Boston to take on Suffolk University. The game will be Tufts' last of the first semester.
"There are things we need to improve," Berube said. "We need to get better in a lot of areas, but I'm happy with a 6-0 record. I'll be even happier if we're 7-0. But we're going to work hard during the semester break and be ready to start the NESCAC season."
