On Saturday, the Tufts women’s basketball team — seeded sixth in the conference — kicked off their post season play by traveling to Hartford, CT to take on No. 3 seed Trinity College. Three weeks ago, the Jumbos played their last home game against the Bantams, earning a 68–59 victory on their senior day. The team was looking to achieve a similar result in the quarterfinal game. However, despite the team’s intense tenacity, Tufts fell short.
Senior guard Sofia Gonzalez wrote in an email to the Daily that “a lot of our focus going into postseason play was to continue our intense level of basketball.”
Gonzales talked about how senior guard Annika Decker, who is a consistent offensive and defensive contributor to the team, is now out for the season due to injury. Gonzales said, “I think that united a lot of us to strive to win … for her. Therefore, I think that we had a reunited sense of motivation and were great to prove ourselves to everyone and show who Tufts basketball is.”
Tufts started the game off strong with first-year guard Monet Witherspoon scoring the first 2 points less than 10 seconds in. Trinity responded quickly with their own 2 points, setting the tone for the nail-bitingly close game ahead.
With such a close game, free throws were crucial in the effort to tie the game or gain even the slightest advantage, as each team had 5 points from the line in the first quarter. Both had similar opportunities at the charity stripe, with Tufts having 31 attempts and Trinity having 30. However, the difference lay in conversion: Tufts shot 64.5% while Trinity shot 86.7%.
The first quarter ended at a 15–15 tie, a foreshadowing of the game ahead.
The game continued to be back and forth in the second quarter, until Tufts obtained a 4 point lead in the final minute and 46 seconds sparked by a three-pointer and finished off by senior forward Caitlyn O’Boyle. The chaotic half finished at 27–23.
Forty-six seconds into the third quarter, Trinity had once again tied the score after two free throws by forward Madi Forman and a jumper by guard Olivia Vick. In the second half, Tufts’ notorious lock-down defense was ignited, making Vick’s jumper the only field goal made by Trinity in the third frame.
Head coach Jill Pace wrote in an email to the Daily that “Our emphasis is always on defense so we talked a lot about continuing to lock-in defensively and maintaining focus.”
During this quarter, Tufts saw a 7-point lead, the biggest lead of regulation, with two minutes and 59 seconds remaining after a layup by first-year forward Siobhan Stapleton. The Jumbos saw another 7 point lead later in the fourth quarter.
Tufts continued their resilient defense throughout the fourth quarter, allowing Trinity to score a mere four field goals. However, during the second half, Trinity was able to score a lot from the free throw line. These points managed to keep Trinity in the game despite their struggles for field goals. Two good free throws by Trinity’s guard Hannah Marzo tied the game 48–48 with 51 seconds remaining in regulation. The teams then headed into their first five-minute period of overtime.
“Close games and overtime can be a whirlwind for the team so my job as a coach is to remain composed and put us in the best position possible to win,” Pace wrote.
In the first overtime period, Trinity won the jump ball and Vick was able to put 2 points on the board for Trinity in the first possession. This of course was quickly matched by a jumper from Tufts’ Witherspoon which allowed Tufts to establish a lead.
With the time running down and the Jumbos holding a 3 point lead, victory looked almost secure. However, Olivia Vick hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to tie the game and sent it into another overtime period. This was Trinity’s first three-pointer of the game and one that Vick will likely remember for the rest of her career.
This three-pointer seemed to unleash something in the Trinity team, who — after winning the jump and scoring first, created a lead that Tufts was unable to match throughout the next overtime period. With two minutes and 17 seconds remaining, a layup by Gonzalez brought Tufts within 1 point from tying the game. However, forward Melissa Whitmore scored a three-pointer to extend the lead for Trinity. This three-pointer, Trinity’s second of the game, seemed to solidify their victory as Tufts was unable to respond.
The game ended with a 72–64 score. Throughout the 50 minutes of play, the game was tied 16 times and the lead changed nine times. Trinity dominated the board with 52 rebounds compared to Tufts’ 39.
Monet Witherspoon led the Jumbos with 20 points and nine rebounds. Gonzalez also contributed nine rebounds along with 19 points and four steals, while Galanes had 13 points and five rebounds.
Trinity was led by Vick who scored a game-high 25 points and Forman who had 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
With a now 15–10 overall record, 5–5 in the NESCAC, Tufts will wait until Mar. 3 to find out if their season will continue from the announcement of the NCAA tournament field.
“We are excited to have a week to focus on ourselves in addition to being able to rest and recover,” wrote Pace. “We have our fingers crossed that this awesome group will have more basketball to play in March.”
