Tufts enters this weekend two wins away from the program's first-ever trip to the Final Four. But the team's focus is squarely on their game tonight, a rivalry matchup with Amherst whose importance transcends the NCAA Tournament. A victory would not only put the Jumbos in position to contest for a National Championship, but would also turn six years of heartbreak and disappointment at the hands of the Lord Jeffs on its head.
Earlier this season, the Jumbos traveled to LeFrak Gymnasium, the cathedral of Div. III college basketball, for a battle of undefeated sides. Amherst came away with the win 54-48, their ninth straight over Tufts, in what could only be described an ugly performance from both sides. Now, the Jumbos will return to western Massachusetts for a chance at perhaps the biggest win in the team's history. Here's what they have to do to shock the Lord Jeffs and earn a spot in the Elite Eight.
1. Beat the crowd
In February, when the two teams first met up, LeFrak was absolutely roaring with chants, cheers and jeers. Tonight, with so much at stake, it may very well be rocking off of its hinges, an environment Tufts is not especially used to playing in. While graduate student co-captain Kate Barnosky loves the energy, it's also impossible to ignore that it can have an effect on gameplay.
"It's fun to play in a loud environment, even if the crowd's against you," she said. "It's fun to go back at them, and try to silence them."
A rowdy crowd can really hit an unprepared team hard if it throws off offensive communication and free throw shooting. Last time, the offense went stagnant at times in the second half, with the similar offensive sets being trotted out again and again. The Jumbos were also uncharacteristically poor from the line, going just 9-of-13. Sophomore guard Hannah Foley, an 86 percent free-throw shooter, missed two, while junior guard Liz Moynihan, a 76 percent free-throw shooter, missed one of her three.
"I think the crowd last time might have thrown some people off," Barnosky said. "I think we just need to focus and drown them out. Enjoy the fun, loud environment, but, when it comes down to it, focus on what we need to do."
The best way for the Jumbos to neutralize the effect of the crowd is to jump out in front earlier. Last Friday against St. Lawrence, Tufts got out to a 19-5 lead in the first six minutes, hitting all four three pointers they took. Not only would a similar start settle down any nerves, it'd settle down the volume as well.
2. Stop Marcia Voigt
In her final year at Amherst, senior and first-team All-NESCAC award winner Marcia Voigt has become prolific in all facets of the game. She not only leads the conference in assists per game and is second in steals per game, but is also seventh in points per game. Orchestrating the offense through its never-ending series of screens, Voigt is comfortable pulling up for a shot, finding a lane to drive or dishing if the defense overcommits. In the NESCAC final against Williams, she had 19 second-half points. The Ephs as a team only had 21.
"She's very experienced, and she's also a relentless player," Barnosky said. "She goes to the hoop hard, she cuts hard, she just does everything very aggressively. You can't take a single second off with her, or she'll make you pay for it."
In the teams' first meeting, Tufts handled Voigt by literally taking her out of the game. Forced to the bench with two early fouls, she played just nine first-half minutes. But she made up for it after the break, chipping in nine points and five assists, including a banked three as the shot clock expired that served as the dagger.
Obviously, the Jumbos can't rely on foul trouble to keep Voigt out for a second straight game and may have to rethink their defensive plan. Last game, Foley handled almost all of the man-marking on Voigt, but Tufts may be better-served mixing it up and giving sophomore point guard Kelsey Morehead a chance, who had an excellent defensive weekend last week, or even senior NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year BreDufault some reps on the star guard.
"We need to put a lot of ball pressure on her early and really take her out of her rhythm," Dufault said. "We have to focus on ball screens and hedging out well and recovering to the roll at the same time."
Of course, no one player can take the full responsibility, thanks to the screen-heavy style of the Amherst offense, so it will take a team effort to shut her down.
"It's just about being disciplined in our communication and talking our guards through those screens," Dufault said. "Then, if you can tell they are really getting hit, helping out when you need to."
3. Win the defensive glass
The numbers don't tell the whole story - while the Jumbos allowed just eight offensive rebounds in the first game, the timing was critical. Tufts allowed three of those in the final nine minutes, with each forcing precious seconds off the clock. Defensive rebounding has been an issue for the Jumbos all season, and they can't afford to let it be one tonight. The Lord Jeffs are first in the NESCAC in the category, with sophomore Megan Robertson leading all players. They already lead the conference in scoring offense. They don't need more help.
Luckily, Tufts looked much better on the glass this past weekend. They held Babson's 6-foot-2 star senior forward Sarah Collins without a single offensive rebound, allowing just five total on 27 missed shots. They will need to bring this same kind of energy into tonight's game.
"Coach has emphasized that we need to box out shooters and the weak side as well, and really prevent them from getting the second-chance points," Dufault said. "If they get an opportunity, they usually capitalize, so if we can prevent them from scoring on that first shot, we definitely need to secure the rebound."
4. Answer the runs
Games between Tufts and Amherst tend to follow one of two patterns. In both, the teams start out level before the Lord Jeffs pull ahead with a run. If the Jumbos can't answer it, as they couldn't in last year's NESCAC championship game after a 20-4 run to begin the second half, the game quickly becomes one-sided. If they do, as they did in answering runs of 5-0, 6-0 and 10-2 in February, the game will typically come down to the wire.
For the Jumbos, they have no worries they can do the same again this time, and match the Lord Jeffs possession for possession.
"Every good team is going to go on a run, and Amherst does that especially well, especially at home," Barnosky said. "That has been something that's been tough in the past to answer, but I think we just have to have the mentality in this game that our season is on the line, and we're not going to let a run stop us. We're going to answer back, and we're going to want it more than them."
