Women's Basketball | Depth, balance too much for Tufts in top−10 battle

For a while, it seemed like the women's basketball team could have actually been able to pull it off.

Leading by eight early in the second half of its Senior Day showdown against Amherst, Tufts appeared to have the No. 1 team in the nation — also a bitter rival and source of constant torment over the last two years — on the ropes.

But then, a questionable foul call sent the Jumbos' best post presence, to the bench. Then, a Lord Jeffs team that missed 11 of its first 12 three−point attempts suddenly discovered the stroke from beyond the arc.

And then, the natural order was restored.

For the fifth time since the start of the 2007−08 season, Amherst got the better of Tufts, and once again, the Lord Jeffs didn't exactly run away with the victory. After outscoring Tufts 43−28 in the second half, Amherst pulled away with a 65−56 win Saturday afternoon in Cousens Gym, the sixth straight meeting between the teams decided by single digits.

With both schools ranked inside the top 10 of the most recent D3hoops.com national poll, the latest chapter of one of the conference's best rivalries had a bit of extra hype going into the weekend. But undefeated Amherst (21−0, 7−0 NESCAC) showed that it is perhaps a cut above the rest this season — both in the conference and in the nation — with a second−half run that put its remarkable balance and depth on display.

"They're the No. 1 team for a reason," coach Carla Berube said. "We were with them the whole way, but great teams make big plays at the end of games: big shots, big offensive rebounds, big defensive stops. I thought we played really hard, we played Jumbo basketball, we got after it — it just wasn't quite enough. Credit the Lord Jeffs."

Trailing 36−28 with 15:29 remaining in the game, Amherst proceeded to outscore Tufts 37−20 the rest of the way, getting 16 points in the paint and another 15 off three−pointers. With sophomore Shannon Finucane enduring an off−night from the field, classmate Lem Atanga McCormick sidelined by a heart condition and junior Sarah Leyman limited by foul trouble, the Lord Jeffs received major contributions from sophomores Caroline Stedman and Jackie Renner, who combined for 26 second−half points.

"We have such confidence in ourselves and in the people that we play with," Finucane said. "Trying to get into the flow of things with people getting hurt is hard, but it's nice to know that even with the injuries and even with coming into this gym, which is hostile, that we can still put it into gear and push through and get the win."

The momentum began to shift in Amherst's favor at the 15−minute mark of the second half, when senior forward Julia Baily was forced to the bench with her third foul. Minus Baily, who had already tallied a double−double through that point, the Jumbos yielded 12 of the next 16 points and never led again.

"She needs to be on the floor for us to be successful — that's how important she is," Berube said. "When she picks up ticky−tacky fouls, it's tough."

Despite the loss, the first for national No. 10 Tufts (19−3, 6−2 NESCAC) in the newly renovated Cousens Gym, there were many positives that came out of the weekend. The Jumbos did, for instance, manage to outplay the country's top team for the first 25 minutes of Saturday's contest, limiting an offense that was averaging 77.2 points per game to just 31.3 percent shooting in the first half. In part because of its strong defensive effort, Tufts carried a six−point lead into halftime and maintained a slim advantage into the early minutes of the second half.

In the end, the Jumbos became just the third team all year to come within single digits of the juggernaut Lord Jeffs.

"We said from the beginning that the pressure is on them, so we were going to go all out the entire game no matter what, every possession," said junior tri−captain and guard Colleen Hart, who finished with a game−high 19 points. "We know we can play with them, and it certainly should give us confidence going into playoffs."

"I'm proud of us — I said that in the locker room after the game," Berube added. "I just love our fight, and we rise up when we need to. I think it shows we belong with the best of the best, not only in the Northeast region or the NESCAC, but in the country."

Another highlight of the weekend came on Friday evening, when Tufts fought off a challenge from Trinity (14−7, 2−5 NESCAC) and clinched home−court advantage for the first round of the upcoming conference tournament. Down 35−26 with 3:13 remaining in the first half, the Bantams closed the period with a 9−0 run, capped by a half−court buzzer−beater by senior tri−captain and guard Claire Arnstein, to draw even. The score was tied once again at the 13:36 mark of the second half, before the Jumbos scored 19 of the game's final 28 points and escaped with a 68−58 victory.