Just as the women's basketball season seemed to be teetering on the brink of collapse, the Jumbos came through with an important 71-62 victory over Amherst on Saturday, featuring tenacious defense and a poised offense down the stretch. Following a 71-53 loss to Trinity the night before, the team responded well and broke its three-game losing streak.
The game against Amherst was a nail-biter from start to finish, with 13 lead changes - including nine in the second half. With 4:30 remaining in the game and the score locked at 60, Tufts rattled off 11 unanswered points from five different players to finish off the Lady Jeffs. During that stretch, the Jumbos went 9-10 from the line and kept Amherst scoreless with solid rebounding and defensive grit.
"We played with a sense of urgency," coach Janice Savitz said. "We had more poise out there and defensive intensity."
Junior center Emily Goodman led Tufts with 19 points, including the first seven in the second half. Down 32-28 after a streaky first half, the Jumbos tied up the game 38-38 four minutes into the second frame with a three point basket by junior co-captain Hillary Dunn. From there it was a dogfight, as Tufts saw contributions from nine different players and played its best half of basketball this semester.
Amherst sophomore Sarah Bergman led the charge with a game-high 23 points, but the bigger story was the Jumbos ability to shut down the Jeff's leading scorer Shannon Russell. Russell averages over 13 points a game, but on Saturday she scored only eight and never really posed much of an offensive threat.
"Katie [Kehrberger] and Maritsa [Christoudias] did a great job defensively against [Russell]," Savitz said. "I am very proud of how the whole team came out after last night's loss; it really showed a lot of character."
Kehrberger, a senior, picked up six points (including four clutch free throws down the stretch) as well as four assists and four rebounds. With 1:11 left and a four point lead, Kehrberger netted both attempts in the one-and-one situation, sealing the victory for Tufts.
"I was a little nervous, but we shoot so many practice shots every day, so it wasn't that big of a deal," Kehrberger said.
The only other Jumbo in double digits was Hillary Dunn, who tied her season high with 11 points. Freshman Devin Rhoades had a career-high nine points, including two important three pointers.
The victory was especially sweet, considering the 71-53 trouncing the team received the night before at the hands of Trinity (8-6, 2-1). The Bantams, who have won eight of their last nine against Tufts, were led by senior guard Alison Hadden, who had 21 points. Trinity built up an early lead, and never allowed Tufts back into the game.
Tufts was led again by Goodman, who had 16 points to go along with eight rebounds. Junior Erin Harrington also reached double figures with 10 points, and had eight rebounds and three steals. The loss dropped Tufts to 7-8 overall - the first time it had been under .500 the entire season.
Back up to .500 and with its first NESCAC win of the season, the team appears to be getting back on track at an important time.
"The two NESCAC losses really put us down, but now we will have a little momentum going into next weekend," Kehrberger said. "Defensively we played a lot harder, getting in passing lanes and being as aggressive as possible."
