While the Tufts women's basketball team didn't get as far as it may have wanted to, it did achieve one very important goal.
"One of our goals is always to make the postseason and we did that," sophomore Emily Goodman said. " We were happy about that because we didn't make the playoffs last season."
The 2000-01 campaign began with a slew of injuries and illnesses. Senior captains Meghann Gill and Shira Fishman and sophomores Sarah Conlan and Erin Harrington were all sidelined. Fishman and Harrington would return at the beginning of the second semester, but Gill and Conlan were lost for the year.
Despite these missing players, the Jumbos managed to go 4-1 prior to winter break. Goodman led the way (as she would all season) earning NESCAC player of the week honors twice before the new year.
Sophomore guard Hillary Dunn stepped up admirably during these five games, logging 35.2 minutes and 4.2 assists per game to offset the loss of Fishman. Also picking up some of the slack during the early going were freshmen Kate Gluckman and Maritsa Christoudias. Christoudias averaged 13.4 points per game prior to winter break, and Gluckman chipped in just under seven rebounds per game.
The team spent winter break in the Bahamas, winning games against Washington College and Marion College in the Great Goombay Shootout. Harrington scored 12 points in her return, and Fishman tallied seven assists in 26 minutes against Washington.
Following a loss to Wellesley upon returning to the States, the Jumbos headed back to Cousens for a five game home stand over the course of ten days, and managed to win three while dropping two. Tufts opened up the stretch of home games with a rout of Smith and a six-point victory over the Brandeis Judges. The two victories moved Tufts record to an impressive 8-2, and upped the Jumbos home record to 4-0.
That perfect record was tainted just two days later as MIT pulled away in the second half to win 68-48, the most lopsided loss that the Jumbos suffered all season. As with most of Tufts' losses this season, the Engineers were buoyed by a poor Tufts shooting performance. The Jumbos shot 22 percent from the field in the second half, while MIT shot a red-hot 50 percent.
As difficult as the loss to MIT was to handle, harder still was the loss two days later to Bates in the NESCAC opener.
"That was definitely a low point," Dunn said. "It was a close game that was especially heartbreaking because we lost it at home."
Bates managed to stay slightly ahead of the Jumbos for most of the game, but didn't pull away until under five minutes to go, when the Bobcats went on a 10-2 run to put Tufts away. Bates freshman Laura Dubois was particularly damaging to the Jumbos, scoring 18 points and contributing six rebounds. Tufts' shooting also played a negative role. It was the third straight game that Tufts had shot better from behind the three point arc than from in front of it.
Conference games carried a new meaning this season with the introduction of the NESCAC women's basketball tournament, which determined who would get the conference's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
It was Tufts' misfortune to get stuck with the better NESCAC teams early on. Four of the Jumbos' first five NESCAC opponents (Bates, Amherst, Colby, and Bowdoin) finished 1-2-3-4 in the league standings at the end of the season. The exception was the Trinity Bantams, who Tufts squeaked by 53-50 the Friday after the Bates game. Against Amherst, the team would have no such luck, losing 61-51 for its second NESCAC loss.
The Jumbos got a break from their ultra-competitive NESCAC schedule, and took advantage of it, beating up on the Gordon Fighting Scots 66-49 on the road, but were right back in the thick of the NESCAC race the next weekend with games against the then second place Colby White Mules, and the then first place Bowdoin Polar Bears.
The Maine trip started out promisingly enough, as the Jumbos were tied with Colby with roughly ten minutes to play, but were blown away by a 21-10 Colby run and ended up losing 70-59. Mule sophomore Bianca Belcher poured in 19 points, and Tufts was outrebounded by Colby, 44-37.
A big run by an opposing team doomed Tufts against Bowdoin the next day. The Jumbos only trailed by seven at the half, but an 18-4 Polar Bear run put the game away. Goodman was held to only ten points in the loss and Tufts went 7-26 from the field in the second half.
By this time, the Jumbos were in dire straits with a 1-4 NESCAC record, putting them only one game out of last place in the conference. Fortunately for Tufts, the remaining four opponents had a combined NESCAC record of 8-14 and Tufts would have the advantage of playing them in the confines of Cousen's Gymnasium. Still, Tufts needed to pass one team to qualify for the playoffs.
First up were games against Williams and Middlebury, two 3-3 (in the NESCAC) teams.
Against Williams, the Jumbos were as impressive as they had been all season. Tufts shot 58 percent from the floor in the second half and turned a three-point edge at the break into a 75-64 final. Goodman had 23 points and ten rebounds to lead the Jumbos.
"The Williams game was definitely a high point," Dunn said. "It was our spirit night and we played well."
Dunn added 11 points of her own, going 3-3 from three-point land.
Unfortunately, the team couldn't keep the momentum going against Middlebury, blowing a ten-point lead in the final ten minutes to lose 69-67.
Two games remained in the regular season and the Jumbos were tied for the seventh and final playoff spot with both Wesleyan and Trinity. It so happened that Wesleyan was one of those remaining two games.
The Cardinals came to Cousens and immediately started making trouble, leading by seven points at the half. The game went down to the wire, but a jumper by junior Katie Kehrberger and free throws by Goodman and Dunn sealed the victory for Tufts. Trinity lost to Colby 80-66 that night, and Tufts earned a trip to the NESCAC playoffs for the first time. Goodman poured in 35 points, a season high, and Tufts shot 44 percent in the second half to earn the victory.
A 91-61 demolition of Connecticut College (winless in the NESCAC) the following night, led the Jumbos into the playoffs on a hot streak, but Tufts still had to settle for only the seventh spot in the conference, drawing Colby as a first-round opponent.
Against Colby, Tufts managed to stay close to the White Mules for most of the game, but were outscored 24-9 at the free throw line, and lost 65-54. Fouls were the key as Goodman spent most of the second half in foul trouble and Fishman ended her Tufts career by fouling out with less than 30 seconds remaining in the game.
"We shut down their two main scorers," Dunn said, "but we couldn't get it going offensively."
The loss to Colby was disheartening, but the team is in good shape for next season. The Jumbos return everybody but Fishman and should also regain the services of Conlan. Fishman's leadership, defense (she was second in the NESCAC in steals), and passing will surely be missed, but Dunn has played well enough to allay fears that there will be any dropoff at the point guard position. Dunn was the team's leading three-point shooter and averaged 3.2 assists per game.
"Each year, we are getting better," Goodman said. "Our record last year was slightly better, but I think we had a better season this year."
