The Tufts women’s basketball team saw its season come to an end against Amherst in the NCAA Sweet 16, ending a successful season and postseason playoff run. The Jumbos lost a game in the regular season to the Amherst Mammoths with a final score of 62–53 and once more to be eliminated from the NESCAC tournament in the semifinals with a final score of 73–59. Despite a slow start, the Jumbos made the game close and only came up three points short of advancing to the Elite Eight, with a final score of 48–45. Head Coach Jill Pace said the team’s players went into their third faceoff with Amherst focused on themselves.
“We made some small adjustments from the last time we played them, but we just went in with a mentality of being about us and playing our game,” Pace said. “I think in the second half we really started to do that. We started to dig in defensively and be a little more aggressive offensively. That ended up paying off for us in the second half, but unfortunately, it was too little, too late at that point.”
Out of the gate, Amherst’s offense overpowered Tufts, securing the team’s double digit leads throughout the first half. Scoring is typically a Jumbo strength, shooting 40.8% from the field for the season. But against the Mammoths, the Jumbos struggled to make shots, shooting a season low of 21% from the field. By the end of the half, Amherst led 31–18. Tufts slowly climbed out of the deficit in the second half, bringing back its usual tough defense and improving offensive numbers. Sophomore forward Maggie Russell attributed the team’s comeback to defense.
“We fought really hard in the second half to come back into the game, and we made it a really close game,” Russell said. “If we played defense the way we did in the second half in the first half, it would’ve been a completely different game.”
Sophomore guard Callie O’Brien said the team shifted its mindset in the second half, but it was unfortunately not enough.
“We talked at halftime about our mindset,” O’Brien said. “We came out in the second half just trying to keep attacking when shots weren’t falling and just being aggressive and leaving it all out there. At the end of the day, the ball didn’t really fall our way, but we left it all out there, and for that reason, we should be proud of ourselves.”
Senior forward Sofia Rosa led the team with 11 points and 15 rebounds. Both Russell and senior guard Molly Ryan scored 10 points in the contest as well. Russell, leading the team and averaging 15.9 points per game for the season, fouled out in the fourth quarter, slightly halting the Jumbo comeback.
Looking back on the successful season and run in the NCAA tournament, Pace said she is proud of her team for all its players have accomplished.
“I’m really impressed by them,” Pace said. “We have a team that hasn’t seen that type of stage before. The first and second rounds, being able to host … I think that was an amazing experience for all of our players. We had a phenomenal crowd. Special shoutout to the students and student-athletes who came to those games. I think they performed really well, and it’s all a learning experience.”
Ryan, a starter in all three seasons that she played and a leader on the team, said her time playing basketball at Tufts has meant a lot to her.
“It’s meant the absolute world to me,” Ryan said. “I’ve met the best people and the best of friends who I’ll be friends with forever. I could not be more thankful to be a part of such an amazing program. The coaches, the families and my own teammates … It’s just been the best experience, and I would never change anything for it.”
The Jumbos end their season 22–5 overall and 8–2 in conference. The team made an impressive run in the NCAA tournament, falling short in the Sweet 16 after receiving an at-large bid. Heading into next season, the roster is full of young talent in the first-year and sophomore classes. Although the team will miss starters in Rosa, Ryan and graduate student Erin Poindexter McHan, big statistical contributors O’Brien, Russell and first-year guard Annika Decker will return next season with all the knowledge from their seniors and the experience of an NCAA run this season. O’Brien said she’s looking to assume a new role next year.
“I want to be more of a leader next year and kind of grow into that role now being an upperclassman,” O’Brien said. “Because of all the role models I’ve had this year in our upperclassmen, I know exactly how to do that, so credit goes to them for that. I’m just looking forward to working hard and getting better every day with some of the same people and some new people.”
