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Women's Basketball | Tufts enters tonight's Sweet 16 game as underdogs against St. Thomas

 

Tonight, for just the second time in program history, the women's basketball team will compete in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Div. III tournament. The Jumbos (23-6), traveled by plane to Chicago, where they will square off against the University of St. Thomas Tommies, who enter into the contest with 28 wins and a single loss.

The Jumbos will have their work cut out for them. According to a D3hoops.com national poll, Tufts is the underdog of the four-team weekend, which should not be surprising — St. Thomas has rattled off 28 straight wins and arrives in Chicago ranked 12th in the nation. The Tommies are making their 20th NCAA appearance, boasting a 34-18 all-time tournament record, including a National Championship title in 1991. 

Furthermore, the Tommies will have a marked height advantage at nearly every starting position against a Tufts squad composed primarily of small, quick guards. Not only does St. Thomas have three centers and two forwards who stand above the six-foot mark, but they also bring impressive height at the guard position. 

Forwards Kate Barnosky and BreDufault will have their hands full down low trying to contain 6-foot-2 sophomore center Maggie Weiers, who is averaging 11.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. But Tufts has had its fair share of success this year as well.

"We've had a chip on our shoulder from the beginning of the season," she said. "We know that if we take it one game at a time and play our game, we can play with anyone."

The 23 wins recorded by the Jumbos this season are second-most in team history, behind only the 26 wins they compiled in the 2007-08 campaign. That year, Tufts had its best NCAA finish, advancing to the Elite Eight. 

Tufts is coming off a 55-46 victory over Johns Hopkins, in which the team held the Blue Jays to a 37.5 field goal percentage and forced 21 turnovers. If the Jumbos have any chance of advancing further into the tournament, defense is going to be paramount once again.

"Defense has been our go-to all year long," senior Tufts guard Tiffany Kornegay said. "That can't change now if we want to win."

Another key to the Jumbos' success on Friday will be limiting the Tommies' dominant starting forward, sophomore Taylor Young, who leads the team with 13.1 points per game. Standing at 5-foot-11, Young creates frequent matchup problems for teams, who can assign their tallest player to guard Weiers while Young reaps the benefits. 

The Jumbos face a similar dilemma on Friday. If Barnosky — who is used to guarding taller players — marks Weiers, Dufault and junior forward Collier Clegg will have to step up and, despite being undersized, try to contain Young. 

All year, though, Tufts has silenced the naysayers. The Jumbos were projected to be a middle-of-the-pack team in the NESCAC, but they have capitalized on tenacious defensive performances and a run-and-gun style of play to exceed expectations all season long. Still, the team finds itself outside of the national top 25. 

This weekend will provide yet another opportunity for the Jumbos to make a case for being mentioned alongside the nation's other top teams.

"We know that this game means a lot to the program," Barnosky said. "But really we look at this as just another big game that we have to win."

The winner of the contest between the Jumbos and Tommies will advance to the quarterfinal round to take on the winner of the Friday night matchup between No. 5 Calvin (27-1) and No. 2 University of Chicago (26-0), who will likely be playing in front of a large home crowd. 

Come tipoff at 6:30 p.m. tonight, though, all of the previous records and polls will go out the window. And the players have no plans of ending their season just yet.

"Right now our focus is mostly on St. Thomas," Barnosky added. "But after we win our first round game we set our sights on Michigan and getting to the Final Four. That is still our goal. Now we are just a little bit closer."