Two days after it appeared that the women's basketball team (7-6, 0-1 NESCAC) was on the verge of turning things around following a 68-55 victory over MIT last Thursday, the squad returned to its struggling ways Saturday afternoon with a dismal 97-57 loss to the Bates Bobcats. The loss was Tufts' seventh straight defeat at the hands of Bobcats.
The 40-point margin of defeat was also the Jumbos' worst loss of the season. Making matters worse was the fact that the game was the team's first NESCAC matchup of the year. With four losses in six games since returning from winter break, the team finds itself in an unenviable situation - its schedule only gets harder with numerous league games scheduled over the next few weeks.
"I guess its really all about the defense," freshman Erin Connolly said. "Defense carries the offense. We really didn't come to play. We had a talk [yesterday] at practice and what's done is done. It's all about getting back on track - starting the season fresh."
While lack of scoring has been a problem for the Jumbos throughout the second semester and continued to be a plague the team on Saturday afternoon, a new problem also developed - shoddy defense. The 97 points allowed were the most the Jumbos have allowed all season. In fact, all 15 players on Bates' roster scored at least three points. In its five previous games Tufts had not allowed an opponent to score more than 67 points.
"We just had a lot of defensive letdowns on Saturday and they turned bad defense into fast break lay-ups," junior Erin Harrington said.
The first eight minutes served as a good indicator on how the game would go for the Jumbos, as the Bobcats jumped out to a 15-4 run to open the game. Tufts, on the other hand, struggled from the field - hitting only two of 18 shots during that same period of time. By halftime Bates had already built what would prove to be an insurmountable 41-18 lead.
After shooting at a 42.2 clip from the field against MIT and seemingly breaking out of a shooting slump, the Jumbos' shooting percentage dipped back down to the low level that had become a familiar sight during the team's first five games back from break. In six games during the new year, the Jumbos have shot 33 percent overall from the field. And in the Bates matchup, Tufts shot a lowly 31.8 clip while the Bobcats shot 52.8 from the field.
"Everyone shot well against MIT," Harrington said. "Bates was just one of those games. We just have to worry about defense. Our shots are gonna fall sooner or later."
In addition to poor shooting, the Jumbos' play was also marred by turnovers, as the Jumbos had trouble combating the Bobcats' press. Tufts turned the ball over 28 times including 17 times in the first half, while the Bobcats recorded only 13 turnovers on the night.
"The whole game they used the full court press and we really couldn't get up the floor quickly and that really hurt us," Connolly said. "But [yesterday] in practice we worked on breaking the press. We just have to stay composed. We got a little flustered by the press."
Although the team has struggled, the good news is that junior Emily Goodman seems to be rounding back into form. After battling a shooting slump through the first four games of 2002, a period in which she averaged only 7.5 ppg - well off her season average of 13.2 ppg - Goodman has averaged 16.5 ppg over the past two games.
With 16 points on 6-16 shooting from the field and 4-5 from the line, Goodman is one point shy of 1,000 for her career. The only other Jumbo in double figures against Bates was sophomore Erin Buckley who chipped in with 11 points for the second consecutive game.
"[Goodman] is obviously the key to our offense. She has been playing great the past two games," Connolly said. "When she is playing great we play great. When she is playing great down low it opens up the outside. Emily is a leader she know she is a good player. Four games [where she struggled] doesn't mean anything, and she is playing well now."
Tufts will have an opportunity to get back on the winning path tonight in a non-conference game against Clark University in Worcester, MA.
