Women's basketball set for busy NESCAC weekend

The women's basketball team will hit the road this weekend with aspirations of bettering its 13-2 (2-1 NESCAC) record and extending its four game win streak. Tufts will square off against the Amherst Lord Jeffs tonight at Amherst and then will go to battle against the Trinity Bantams tomorrow in Hartford, CT. Amherst and Trinity are currently tied for last place in the NESCAC with 0-4 league records.

The first obstacle Tufts will have to overcome in order to continue its success lies in a struggling Amherst squad. The Jeffs are in the midst of a six game losing skid despite maintaining a 9-7 overall record. Amherst lost its previous matchup on Tuesday versus NESCAC foe Williams College by 16 points (64-48).

"We don't worry about what kind of streak they are on," coach Carla Berube said. "What we do is what matters. We have to come out strong and not have lapses like we have had at the beginnings of our games lately."

The Jeffs' loss came in spite of senior power forward Sarah Walker's career high 18 rebound, 17 point, four steal performance. Tufts will have to contain Walker if they are to come out on top.

"They have some quality players in Sarah Walker and Shannon Russell. But it's really about us and our defense. If someone starts to hurt us, we'll make changes, maybe do some double teaming, but it really comes down to what we have," Berube said.

Amherst's main vice during its six consecutive losses has been its inability to hold on to the ball. In the Williams game alone, the team had 27 turnovers.

"We play a pressure defense and get into passing lanes. Hopefully they will turn it over if we play a tough one-on-one D. We will put a lot of pressure on them and not let them get their offense going," Berube said.

Statistics and analysis aside, little love is lost between Tufts and Amherst.

"We'll be fired up for the NESCAC game, Amherst is always a big rival," Berube said.

Tufts will return from Amherst only to board the team bus again on Saturday for their 3 p.m. match at Trinity. The Bantams will be coming off a Friday night game against Bates, making fatigue a possible factor on both sides of the ball.

"We both have tough games on Friday night, but players are used to playing back to back games," Berube said. "We will come out running like crazy. We're in pretty good condition and will play our game."

Trinity has posted a mere 5-9 overall record going into its game against Bates tonight. The Bantams have yet to chock up a victory in NESCAC play this season. Last year, Trinity smacked the Jumbos 53-71 here in Medford.

"We're a totally different team than last year. We've been using the whole 'let's get them back' thing this year, but we'll be ready no matter what," Berube said.

The Bantams defeated Suffolk College on Tuesday 78-65. Freshman forward Jennifer Gargiulo had 19 points, 16 rebounds and four assists while shooting 60 percent from the field in the win.

If Tufts is to be successful in its upcoming games, it will have to minimize sloppy turnovers and stay strong on defense. Freshman Jessica Powers, junior Erin Buckley, and Thursday's star, sophomore Allison Love, will also have to be on top of their games on both ends of the court.

With victories in both of these upcoming weekend campaigns, the Jumbos would improve their league record to 4-1 and probably advance in the standings. The team currently sits in a tie for fifth place with Middlebury.

"It's still early," Berube said. "We still have two more weekends of NESCAC games. We don't really look at the standings, but are just concerned with what we are doing. Everything will fall into place accordingly."