Women's basketball stormed out of the gate this weekend in Rochester, N.Y., winning the 2013 Chuck Resler Tournament with victories over Baldwin Wallace and Rochester.
Coming off one of the best seasons in school history, the expectations are high for a Jumbos team that lost only two graduating seniors and graduate student Kate Barnosky from last year's squad, and added four freshmen and a sophomore transfer. Old faces combined with new to produce a lethal attack that spurred two stellar late-game performances to secure victories in the team's first two games.
In their season-opener on Friday against Baldwin Wallace, the Jumbos' versatility was on full display. Twenty-seven of the Jumbos' 39 first-half points came off the bench. Freshman forward Michela North led the Jumbos with 13 points in her collegiate debut, tacking on six boards and two blocks to go with it. Junior forward Hayley Kanner also had 13 points, while classmate forward Ali Berman tacked on 12 points of her own.
The Jumbos built a 39-31 advantage by intermission, but Baldwin Wallace stormed out of the halftime break on a 22-12 run to take a 53-51 lead. The teams traded baskets for much of the second-half, but Tufts was able to pull ahead 71-65 in the final minutes and hold on for a 71-70 win.
Saturday's contest against Rochester had a similar script to Friday's matchup. The Jumbos built a 16-point halftime lead against the hosts only to see Rochester make a furious run in the second half to close the gap to four points. But that margin was as close as they would get to catching the Jumbos, as clutch free-throw shooting late in the game kept Tufts ahead and secured a 61-57 victory.
"This weekend showed us that we still have stuff to work on," Berman said. "Those two wins are huge, but it's important to try to correct the mistakes and maintain a high level of play throughout."
There were many positive signs in the Jumbos' first real action of the season, not the least of which is the breadth of weapons coach Carla Berube has at her disposal. Tufts sophomore Emma Roberson tallied ten points and nine assists, and North had 15 points, 16 rebounds and five blocked shots in her first two games at the collegiate level. Junior guard Kelsey Morehead, who was awarded MVP honors for the tournament, had 23 points between the two games.
"It's always exciting getting new players," senior tri-captain Ali Rocchi said. "I think they fit in with the team really well. They look very promising. We're super excited to see what they'll come up with this year. I think they'll give us a lot of good minutes."
"I've been impressed with our young players, especially in practice this year," Berman added. "They've done a good job of getting into plays and drills, and you can tell they have the right mentality and attitude about things."
The Jumbos will look to remain perfect on the season when they host Colby-Sawyer in their home opener tonight. Colby-Sawyer will enter action 0-2 following two double-digit losses over the weekend.
