Jumbos playing for playoff birth

The women's basketball team wraps up its regular season this weekend with two very important games. No love will be lost in tonight's Valentine's Day matchup with NESCAC rival Middlebury in Cousens Gym. The Jumbos take to the home court again tomorrow in their final regular season game of 2003 against fellow NESCAC foe Williams. The outcomes of these games will determine Tufts' seed in the NESCAC tournament set to begin on Feb. 22.

Tufts has had its share of tough games against Middlebury. The Jumbos are winless in their last three attempts versus the Panthers.

"We can always use it as an incentive that they have our number," coach Carla Berube said.

Middlebury has a long history of success. The Panthers have had ten consecutive postseason appearances and have won 76 percent of their games over the past 11 years. The team also has had three NCAA tournament bids and won the ECAC championship in 1996.

Despite this tradition of excellence, this season's Panthers are not as strong as they have been in the past. With an 11-10 overall record and a 3-4 NESCAC mark, Middlebury has struggled at points during the season.

The Panthers, however, are coming off of a two game win streak after losing their previous five contests. For the season Middlebury has averaged 59 points and 16 turnovers per game.

Tufts and Middlebury are currently tied for sixth place in the NESCAC with 3-4 league records.

"They play really hard," Berube said. "Middlebury plays great defense and has a couple of great scorers."

The Jumbos will have to step up their defense against senior co-captains Kristin Hanley and Wesley Hyatt if they want a victory over the Panthers. Hanley averages 14.4 ppg and leads her team in scoring this season.

"It would be a really good win [against Middlebury]," senior captain Hillary Dunn said. "They're a really solid team. It felt great to beat Bates and I think it would be pretty much the same feeling as that against Middlebury."

After the showdown with Middlebury the Jumbos will have to quickly regroup for their Saturday matchup against Williams the 16-5 (5-2 NESCAC). The game could be Tufts final home game of the season.

The Ephs, who defeated the Jumbos 79-50 last year, are in the midst of a hot streak, as they have won three games in a row. In order for Tufts to win, it will have to stop senior-co captain Melissa Skeffington who has led the Ephs in scoring in 13 of 21 contests and averages 14.9 ppg.

"Williams has always been tough," Berube said. "But it doesn't matter what our opponents do, it all boils down to what we have. If we show up with our A game and play the way we are capable of playing, I know we can have a great game."

What next weekend will hold for Tufts and every other NESCAC team rests in the hands of this weekend's matchups. The Jumbos are almost certainly in the playoffs, but will not know what seed they will have in the tournament until the rest of the games around the league have been played out this weekend.

"If we win both our games, we might get a high enough seed to get a home game [in the playoffs]; we just need to go into the weekend thinking we need to win both. That's all that matters. We'll see where we fall," Dunn said.

One factor that could really help the Jumbos in these two big games is fan support. The team is 9-1 in home games this season.

"I'd love to have a huge crowd for both games," Berube said. "It helps us out a lot when there are a lot of fans cheering."