Prior to Super Bowl Sunday, the No. 4 Tufts women’s basketball team (20–2) demonstrated the importance of playing strong, defensive basketball on the collegiate court.
Nowhere is defensive play more important than in the NESCAC — a conference that currently hosts three of the top five teams in the nation — and this weekend, the Jumbos welcomed two of their NESCAC rivals to Cousens Gymnasium. The Jumbos played two games that demonstrated different offenses and defenses; on Saturday, the Jumbos brushed past the Hamilton Continentals (10–9), bouncing back after a smack-down suffered to the mighty Amherst Mammoths (19–2).
On Saturday afternoon, Tufts was in their element against Hamilton College, trouncing its defense and emerging victorious by a 35-point margin with a score of 79–44. On Friday night, the Jumbos were met with a much greater challenge against the No. 5 Amherst College Mammoths, who are currently No. 2 in the NESCAC behind undefeated Bowdoin College (22–0). Playing in front of an electrified Jumbo audience, the Jumbos were unable to convert points against a resilient Mammoth defense, losing only their second game of the season with a score of 50–40.
The narrative of Saturday afternoon’s game against Hamilton was an example of the dominance the Jumbo defense and offense has shown throughout the majority of the season. The Jumbos took an early 21–9 lead in the first quarter and built upon their lead during the entire game. Both individual players and the team as a whole exhibited some of the most impressive performances of the season.
One such player was senior guard and co-captain Jac Knapp, who scored 15 total points in the game alongside a team-high seven rebounds and four assists. Saturday's game, however, was special for Knapp; prior to the game, both she and senior forward Katie Martensen were honored by their friends, family and teammates for Senior Day.
Knapp described the feeling of being celebrated and honored for Senior Day prior to and during the game against Hamilton.
“Senior Day was awesome and I am so thankful for my teammates and coaches for making the day so special,” Knapp said in an email to the Daily. “The locker room and gym looked amazing and it’s always exciting to be able to get a win on Senior Day as well.”
Knapp indeed put on an early show for her spectators during the first quarter of the Hamilton game, scoring nine of the 21 total Jumbo points to open the game. Six of these nine points were on completed free throws, where she shot 6–6 from the line during the first quarter and a team-high seven of eight throughout the entirety of the game.
Knapp’s impressive free throw statistics come as no surprise; in her four years at Tufts, Knapp has made 79.5 percent of her free throws. To put that into perspective, Knapp currently stands at sixth in the Tufts women's basketball record book for free throw percentage. As a team, the Jumbos converted 14 out of their 19 free throws.
In addition to converting from the free-throw line, the Jumbos' dominance also came as a result of their ability to shoot from range. The Jumbos scored 28 out of their 51 attempted field goals overall; even more remarkable was the Jumbos' 3-point percentage, where the Jumbos shot 9–18.
One of the remarkable highlights of the game against Hamilton was the performance by junior guard Lilly Paro, who scored six out of the Jumbos’ nine 3-pointers. Her first made 3-pointer was in the second quarter off of an assist by junior guard/forward and co-captain Erica DeCandido, which Paro followed up with another 3-pointer later in the half to give the Jumbos a 20-point lead with a score of 34–14.
In the second half, Paro continued her success feat by sinking four 3-point shots as well as a layup, much to the amazement of her teammates and the invigorated crowd. All in all, Paro closed out her big day scoring eight out of her 11 attempted field goals and a career and team-high 22 points. Paro spoke about what led to her scoring drive, and how her teammates contributed to her finding a rhythm during the game.
“My shot had been feeling good, so when I was open I shot it,” Paro said in an email to the Daily. “When they started going in, I got myself in a rhythm. The energy my teammates brought to the game made it possible for the shooting rhythm to continue.”
Strong shooting from range, as well as superior defensive play, helped the Jumbos keep the ball out of the Hamilton players’ hands while outscoring them by a large margin. By the end of the second quarter, the Jumbos led by a score of 38–16, and although Hamilton fared better offensively during the second half, the Jumbos reigned victorious by a final score of 79–44.
Head coach Carla Berube spoke about the energy the Jumbos brought to the Hamilton game, as well as the importance of honoring the teams' seniors.
“I thought that the team on Saturday came out with a lot of energy, and they weren't looking back on what happened Friday night. They were looking forward,” Berube said. “It was important for us to have a great game to honor our seniors, Jac and Marti [Martensen], and so I think everyone was fired up for the game.”
The win helped lighten the mood that had been set less than 24 hours before Saturday's game, as the Jumbos lost their second game of the season against Amherst. The loss against the Mammoths exhibited the pinnacle of NESCAC defensive play.
By the end of the first half, the Mammoths led by a score of 19–15. The lack of scoring during the first half was partially due to the Mammoths' ability to prevent the Jumbos from getting good looks. The Jumbos scored merely five out of their 27 attempted field goals in the first two quarters, while the Mammoths completed nine out of their 23 attempted field goals. This edge in shooting gave the Mammoths a four-point lead in a very competitive matchup between two NESCAC superpowers.
As the game rolled into the second half, the Jumbos seemed intent on securing a lead over their rival. Amherst was able hold their lead by matching their shooting, with the Mammoths scoring 11 points off of field goals in the third quarter while the Jumbos scored 10 points off of field goals.
The Mammoths also capitalized on their free-throw attempts, of which they completed all nine. The Jumbos, on the other hand, did not earn any free-throw attempts, and thus the Mammoths outscored the Jumbos by a score of 20–10 in the third quarter.
Although the Jumbos took advantage of their free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter, they were unable to gain a lead over their adversaries and were defeated by a final score of 50–40. Berube spoke about the struggles Tufts faced against Amherst, and what she thinks the team needs to improve defensively in the future.
“I think we just need to do a better job on both ends of the floor,” Berube said. “I think we need to do a better job of executing our offenses and screening better, and cutting harder, and focusing in on our shots and play better transition defense. I think better communication on the defensive end as a whole.”
With the NESCAC and NCAA tournaments coming up, this weekend may not have been the last time that Tufts faces either Amherst or Hamilton this season. The Jumbos, whose record is 20–2 following the weekend, travel to Babson College (18–3) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. for a non-conference game. Following the game on the road, the Jumbos return home to face NESCAC rival Trinity College (18–4) on Sunday afternoon for their last game of the regular season.
Women's basketball earns NESCAC victory after defensive loss
