Women's basketball off to 2-1 start

The women's basketball team improved its overall record to 2-1 after it traveled to Wellesley and defeated Babson (1-3) 62-54 on Tuesday evening. The Jumbos squared off against the Beavers, a NEWMAC opponent, in efforts to boost their confidence and continue to develop as a team.

"It's early, but we are starting to develop team chemistry," coach Carla Berube said. "We are coming together well and are getting better and better with every game."

Babson started the game by taking a 17-14 lead. Tufts then turned the tables with quick offensive breaks, closing out the half leading 31-27. Freshman Jessica Powers sparkled in the first frame, scoring 15 points for the Jumbos.

Tufts carried its energy into the second half, thanks in part to junior Maritsa Christoudias' five points. The Jumbos went on a 10-4 run to put them ahead 41-31 with just 16 minutes left in regulation.

Babson stepped up its intensity during the subsequent six minutes, scoring nine unanswered points. This initial Beaver rally was thwarted when Christoudias drained her second three pointer of the game, starting a 9-0 run for the Tufts. However, the Beavers were not dammed yet. Despite being down 56-40, Babson dug deep and scored ten straight points, narrowing Tufts' lead.

The Jumbos held on and secured the victory by preventing Babson from capitalizing on its last three opportunities. The win upped Tufts' record to 2-1 and set the stage for the rest of this week's match ups.

The Jumbos face off against the Regis College Pride tonight. The teams appear evenly matched on paper, indicating that anything could happen in the game. Both squads are adjusting to new coaches this season. Berube took over for the Jumbos and Anthony Staffiere was named head coach of the Pride November 20.

Additionally, both teams feature young, talented players. Six-foot freshmen Charlotte Southern and Somerville's own Danielle Doherty lead the Pride at center. Fellow freshmen Erin Campbell and Colleen Hill contribute quickness and skills in the backcourt. These players should match up nicely against Tufts' junior center Erin Buckley and sophomore forward Krissy Nierenberg.

In the past two years, under former coach Wendy Rogers, Regis posted an abysmal 9-38 record. The Jumbos stomped the Pride in their last three meetings winning by a decisive 33 points in the 2001-2002 season.

Tufts has one day after Regis to gear up for a Saturday match up against cross-town opponent MIT. The Engineers are 3-2 this season and traveled to Missouri over the Thanksgiving Holiday to play in the McWilliams Classic at Washington University in St. Louis.

The WU Bears are a Div. III powerhouse and annihilated MIT 94-38 in the opening round of the tournament last Saturday. The Engineers then lost to Rhodes College on Sunday 58-50. This fruitless trip to the Midwest was the antithesis of MIT's performance in their own tournament the previous weekend when they took first place by defeating Emerson and RPI.

Tufts has gone back and forth with the Engineers over the past three years. The Jumbos prevailed in both the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 seasons, but fell in 2000-2001. Last year, MIT was 5-18 overall compared to Tufts' 9-14 record.

Key players to watch for MIT are junior Maria Hidalgo who recently amassed fourteen points in the Engineers' 71-50 win over Anna Maria College, and freshman standout Dorothy Phoenix who brought down fourteen rebounds against Emerson in the MIT tournament.

"These games will be a good test for us," Berube said. "We would love to go into the [winter] break 4-1. As always, we will focus on defense in practice and if we can stop the other teams from scoring, we can win."