At the beginning of the season, the Jumbos could have accepted that this was going to be a down year - the stereotypical "rebuilding year" - and it would have been hard for anyone to blame them. As they were well aware, they had just graduated the program's all-time leading scorer, Colleen Hart (E '11), and two-time NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year Vanessa Miller (LA '11). Had Tufts found a home in the middle of the NESCAC pack and struggled to compete with the elite teams of one of Div. III's strongest conferences, few would have been surprised.
"I honestly didn't really know what to expect," said senior co-captain Kate Barnosky, who missed most of the 2010-2011 season with a knee injury. "With graduation, we knew things were going to be different. We had some good freshmen coming in. I was a little nervous about how we would fare in the NESCAC without two of our best players."
But the team went about its business in the preseason, and, as time went on, the pieces began falling into place.
"I definitely knew [this season] was going to be different, and I didn't know how different at the time, but I still had high hopes and expectations," said senior guard Tiffany Kornegay, who became the fifth straight Tufts player to win NESCAC Defensive Player of Year after finishing in the conference's top five in both rebounds and steals per game. "A lot of us were motivated in the preseason because we knew a lot of teams didn't expect a lot of us. We had that chip on our shoulder."
Now, after a 23-7 season and a trip to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, it is fair to say that the Jumbos surpassed expectations and silenced their doubters. Despite the loss of their two superstars, they played even better than the year before, finishing second in the NESCAC behind only national No. 1 Amherst and posting the second-highest win total in program history.
All season, the Jumbos thrived as a result of their stifling defense. Although they were undersized, with only one player on their roster over six feet tall, the Jumbos implemented a team-oriented approach on defense, stressing hedging on ball screens and boxing out. They allowed just 46.3 points per game - which ranked fourth in all of Div. III - on just 33.2 percent shooting from the field, both second-best in the conference. Kornegay's ability to contain the opposition's top scorer also proved to be crucial for Tufts throughout the season.
While the Jumbos did not have a dominating presence offensively, their well-rounded attack gave defenses trouble. Tufts had nine players who averaged between 5.1 and 9.2 points per game and employed a run-and-gun offense in which players looked to push the ball in transition and attack the basket. Barnosky was the top scorer with 9.2 points per game on 41.2 percent shooting.
"Not having that All-American or go-to leading scorer worked to our advantage and made people step up," Kornegay said. "We emphasized having each other's backs, and literally working as a team, and everyone pulled their own weight to be a strong unit."
Barnosky and Kornegay, the Jumbos' lone seniors, were the heart and soul of the team both on and off the court, and they pushed their teammates to work hard all season long. Barnosky and Kornegay were both named to the All-NESCAC second team, as well as the All-Region third and fourth teams, respectively.
"We wanted to set the standard high coming into the preseason, not taking it lightly and getting after it right away," Kornegay said. "We worked hard from day one, and that way, we kind of molded our new team."
After a 19-5 regular season, Tufts cruised through the first two rounds of the NESCAC tournament, first beating Conn. College 57-40 on their home floor before knocking off Bowdoin 55-40 in the semifinals at Amherst. In the finals, the Jumbos battled the host Lord Jeffs, but the defending national champions pulled away in the second half to win, 48-31, and take the conference title.
The team then learned that it would be hosting a four-team pod for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, in the first-ever NCAA tournament basketball games played on the Tufts campus. Tufts pulled out two tough victories at Cousens Gym, defeating Misericordia 61-57 in the first round and downing Johns Hopkins 55-46 the next day in the Round of 32.
With just 16 Div. III teams left standing, the squad flew to Chicago to do battle with the University of St. Thomas last Friday. The Jumbos, who had a severe height disadvantage, overcame a 14-point deficit to pull within one in the final minutes. But their comeback effort came up a bit short, and the Tommies won 50-47 to end the Jumbos' remarkable run.
The future looks extremely bright, as head coach Carla Berube's squad will return many players with the potential to lead the Jumbos in the coming years. Freshman point guard Kelsey Morehead had a successful first season, starting all 30 games and leading the team in minutes played while averaging nearly seven points and 2.3 assists per game. Junior co-captain BreDufault, sophomore guard Liz Moynihan and junior guard Collier Clegg - all of whom logged significant minutes for the team this year - will also be back.
Freshman center Hayley Kanner appears to have three good years ahead of her as well. Despite averaging only 16.2 minutes per game, Kanner finished second in the NESCAC with 1.63 blocks per game and has the potential to dramatically impact games with her height and defense down low.
No matter what next year brings, the Jumbos can look back on this season and know that they realized their potential and left the door open for further improvement.
"I'm really proud of the team and everything we accomplished this year," Barnosky said. "The future is very bright for Tufts basketball. I think all we accomplished this year puts Tufts basketball back on the map where we want and deserve to be."
