On Tuesday night, the men's basketball team came within three points of upsetting the number one team in New England in front of a frenetic crowd in Cousens Gymnasium. On Saturday night, the women's team will get its chance as it squares off against 15-0 Bowdoin, capping off a five-game home stand. If there was ever a time when the Jumbos would like to take on this challenge, it would be now, when they are on a two-game win streak and playing their best basketball of the season.
If things go as planned, the team (9-8, 1-2) will be riding a three-game win streak going into the game, as it plays Colby (8-11, 2-2) tonight at 7 p.m. The White Mules have had a similar season to the Jumbos; both stand in the middle of the pack in the NESCAC standings.
Leading the Mules is junior center Sarah Walsh, who earned Maine State Player of the Year honors, All-NESCAC, and All-New England honors last season, and brought home the ECAC Tournament Most Valuable Player Award.
"I will be guarding her mostly," junior center Emily Goodman said. "We worked on a few different t defenses including a 1-3-1. We also went over some of their plays in practice this week, so I think we will be in good shape."
Tufts will have numerous scoring threats, with junior Erin Harrington and senior Katie Kehrberger both coming off torrid shooting performances on Tuesday against Gordon. Kehrberger went 8-10 from the field, scoring a career-high 17 points, and also dished out eight assists. Harrington put up a game-high 22 points, and is currently second on the team in scoring with 11.1 points per game. Senior co-captain Jayme Busnengo has also had a hot hand of late, and Goodman as always is a threat down low. Running the point will be junior co-captain Hillary Dunn, currently second in the NESCAC and 12th in Div. III with 5.6 assists per game.
"I think that at this point we have worked all the kinks out that have worked against us in the other games," Goodman said. "In the past two games we have solved our problems with rebounding and shooting. With our shooters playing well, I think it keeps the other team honest. It will make it a lot harder for them to defend us."
Bowdoin will pose a much larger threat, as it has gone 36-8 over the past two seasons, and looks to better its Sweet Sixteen performance at nationals last year. The Polar Bears currently lead the conference in team field goal, free throw, and three-point percentage. Junior forward Kristi Royer and sophomore guard Lora Trenkle lead the team with 14.5 points per game, but it is overall team play that has been the story of Bowdoin's success.
This year, only two teams have come within ten points of defeating Bowdoin, Wellesley being the closest, losing 66-65 in overtime back in November. Bates, a team that beat the Jumbos by 40 points earlier in the year, was defeated handily by the Polar Bears 65-51.
"Their record is intimidating," Goodman said. "We are going to go in, and we will play hard, and we'll see what happens."
Tufts will have the advantage of playing at home this weekend, while both Colby and Bowdoin will be making the long haul down from Maine.
Since only the top seven teams in the conference qualify for the NESCAC tournament in a month, the final six games will be of utmost importance.
