Tufts women’s basketball faced NESCAC opponents Williams and Middlebury on Friday and Saturday.
In the matchup against the Ephs, the Jumbos maintained the lead from the tipoff to the final buzzer but not without the Ephs chasing hard each quarter.
First-year guard Monet Witherspoon put on an absolute clinic, finishing with 23 points while shooting nine of 13 from the field. Senior guards Sofia Gonzalez and Annika Decker also worked as keystones throughout the game, with Gonzalez dropping 13 points and Decker dishing out five assists. Other notable scorers included graduate student guard Callie O’Brien, who scored 8 points, and sophomore guard Stella Galanes, who scored 7 points.
The Ephs cut the Jumbos’ lead down to just 2 points in the fourth quarter, but the Jumbos found a second wind and couldn’t be caught down the stretch. At the final buzzer, the score was 61–52, and the Jumbos sealed their first NESCAC win of the season.
Their weekend was far from over, as Tufts got up to do it again against Middlebury the following day. The Panthers were undefeated in conference play leading up to their trip to Medford and the Jumbos sent them home with their first NESCAC loss of the season. Gonzalez proved unstoppable, shooting four of seven from 3-point range and tallying 25 points. Galanes put on her own shooting display, finishing five for eight from the field with 15 points. Senior forward Caitlyn O’Boyle and O’Brien were in perfect sync with an impressive 10 points each, while Witherspoon and Decker contributed 5 and 7 points, respectively.
Despite a great effort from Middlebury guard Alexa Mustafaj, the leading scorer in the NESCAC, the Panthers couldn’t shrink the Jumbos’ lead, and after four quarters, the score was 72–63 with the Jumbos victorious once again.
After a rocky start to in-conference games this season, the Jumbos have rebounded and tallied on some key wins heading into the final leg of matchups. Asked about the team’s preparation and execution in an email to the Daily, Decker wrote, “In practice we focus a lot on our defensive plan.” She stressed the importance of this, especially in regard to the game against Middlebury, referring to Mustafaj’s incredible point-scoring capabilities this season, as she has averaged 22.3 points per game.
The defensive emphasis she mentioned appears to have worked seamlessly: In the first quarter against the Ephs, the Jumbos held the Ephs to a mere 6 points. “We also emphasized starting the 3rd quarter strong,” Decker wrote, adding that doing so against Middlebury would be crucial for the win. Tufts women’s basketball practices what they preach, as the second and third quarters against Middlebury were their strongest, putting up 21 points in both quarters and holding Middleburyto 11 points in the second and 18 points in the third.
When asked about what factors have been focal points for the team, Decker wrote, “The big things we are working on is having confidence and playing a full 40 minute game.” The team’s hard work was on display in both matchups this weekend, with the Jumbos producing high-scoring numbers and not faltering in the third and fourth quarters of their games.
In NESCAC play, Tufts now ranks right in the middle of the pack, although there is still plenty of room to climb up the ladder. “It will all start in practice,” Decker wrote. Matching the intensity of practices to that of actual games will be of utmost importance in ensuring continued success on the court. “We have really tried to focus on making practices feel harder than a game,” Decker said, as getting used to tough situations in practice makes key in-game moments feel far more manageable.
Tufts heads to New London, Conn. for their next in-conference game against Connecticut College. With the recent consecutive wins under their belt, the Jumbos improved their record to 11–6, and in the next few weeks, they will look to boost both their NESCAC and overall standings.
With plenty of basketball left to play in the 2024–25 season, the Tufts women’s basketball team looks to create opportunity as the playoffs approach. With unwavering confidence and grit for all 40 minutes, they continue to get it done on both sides of the court.
