Senior co-captain Allison Love made her last collegiate home game a special one Tuesday night, scoring 20 points to lead the Jumbos to a 65-60 win over Salve Regina.
Tufts took a slim lead into halftime, 35-33, and the teams went back and forth in the second half. The last five minutes produced some of the most exciting basketball the Jumbos have seen this year. Sophomore Valerie Krah hit a clutch three pointer with 4:52 left that gave Tufts a four-point lead, but Salve answered with a three from junior Meaghan Stapleton.
After two free throws from sophomore Taryn Miller-Stevens, Stapleton hit another trifecta to tie the score at 56. That's when Love took over, hitting a three pointer and two free throws. The Jumbos made their foul shots down the stretch to come away with the win.
"[Love] is always important to our team," coach Carla Berube said. "With Salve playing a zone for the whole game, it was important for her to make big shots. She made them down the stretch, and got some big rebounds to help us to that win."
Love's effort was her last on the Jumbos' home court.
"I wasn't really thinking about it," Love said. "In retrospect, it's sort of bittersweet. It's nice to end on a good note, but it's sad that I won't be playing in Cousens again."
Against Salve, the whole team played well down the stretch for Tufts. In addition to Love, junior Jessica Powers also had four big points in the last two minutes of the game.
"I think [playing well in the clutch] comes from experience," Berube said. "It comes from being in those situations, and not pulling it out. We learned from that, and now they have confidence that they're going to get it done. Players stepped up when we needed them to. Alli and Jess hit big shots, Alli and [junior] Laura Jasinski got some key rebounds, and Taryn hit a couple of huge free throws. I think it does come down to having the confidence to pull the game out."
Tufts also played great defense, holding Salve Regina to just 37 percent shooting from the floor. The Tufts defense was especially stingy in the last 30 seconds of the game, foiling two Stapleton three-point attempts and grabbing the rebounds to seal the win. That was the difference in the outcome, as the Jumbos shot only 36 percent themselves on the game. Salve Regina was also forced into 21 turnovers, a testament to Tufts' pressure defense.
"We pressured them a little when we wanted to," Berube said. "We threw a little zone at them, and played our typical aggressive man-to-man. They probably scored more than we would have liked them to, but we did a good job at the end to come out with the win in a tight game. The people who needed to step up did."
Junior Julia Verplank, who has missed significant time this year with a knee injury, saw only limited action. According to Berube, the injury was bothering Verplank.
"This weekend is huge for us. We're going to see if our season's going to continue, so we wanted to save her for that," Berube said. "She really didn't need to play [against Salve Regina]."
Verplank was productive in the short time she saw, contributing five points and two steals in just 10 minutes. She has looked good since missing nine straight games, and contributed 12 points and seven rebounds in Tufts' loss to NESCAC-leading Bates last Saturday.
Without her, the team relied on Miller-Stevens and sophomore Marilyn Duffy-Cabana at the point guard position. The experience they picked up during Verplank's absence has made the Jumbos a better team.
"Taryn's been playing really well," Berube said. "She's been playing with more confidence, and the team really rallied around her. Marilyn has also played very well for us. It's good for the team that other people have had to step up. I think it's made us deeper."
Powers and Krah joined Love as the Jumbos' double-digit scorers. Powers had 14 points to go along with seven rebounds, while Krah added 11 points, three assists, and three steals. Love had nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals to go along with her 20 points.
Salve was led by junior Lindsay Frederick, freshman sophomore Allison Moen, and Megan Barry, who each scored 12 points. The Seahawks fell to 12-7.
"I think everyone stepped up for us," Love said. "We realized it was our last home game and didn't want to end the [home] season on a loss. This weekend will be big for us so we wanted to head into it with a win. It was definitely on the back of everyone's minds."
This weekend, the team takes on Trinity and Amherst on the road in its last two games of the season. Tufts currently sits at 1-6 in the NESCAC, on the bubble for a playoff spot, and must defeat Trinity (2-5 in conference play) in order to gain a berth. The Jumbos move to 12-9 on the season with the win, but the season will now hinge on the Trinity game this Friday night.
