Women's basketball pulls off nail-biter

Sometimes the basketball just falls into the hands of the right person at the right time. Such was the case on Tuesday night when senior captain Hillary Dunn sunk two crucial free throws with 1.4 seconds remaining in regulation to seal the Jumbos' 16th win of the season at Wheaton College.

"It was good to see [Dunn] as a senior, captain and leader be able to step up and make those free throws," coach Carla Berube said. "I knew when the ref called the foul that we were going to win the game."

In a rollercoaster ride in which Tufts gained several big leads only to see them fritter away, Dunn's big shots concluded what was almost a huge Lyon comeback.

Tufts entered the contest fresh off last weekend's losses to NESCAC opponents Bowdoin and Colby. The Jumbos stormed out of the gates taking a commanding 19-4 lead just 11 minutes into the first half.

"We had a great start and were playing very well," Berube said. "It was some of the best basketball I've seen out of us in a long time."

Freshman Jessica Powers drained two shots from downtown in the opening spurt adding to the ten points she scored in the first half.

The Lyons, however, would not go down on their home court without putting up a fight. Sophomore Vanessa Savas had eight straight points in the second quarter to help Wheaton chisel away at the Jumbo's huge initial lead. The Lyons eventually clawed their way back to score 28 points in the last nine minutes of the half cutting the Tufts advantage to 40-32 at the break.

"Towards the end, we kind of turned if off and let them back in," Berube said. "They fought hard."

After halftime, the Jumbos had a difficult time reviving the momentum they showed in the beginning of the contest. Midway through the second half Wheaton tied the game and was threatening to pull ahead.

"We can't turn it on and off like that and think we are going to win games because we are a better team," Berube said.

The Jumbos initiated a small charge with about ten minutes to go in the game to put themselves back on top by ten. Later, Wheaton mounted a drive of its on, culminating with senior guard Kerry Deshefy hitting a three to deadlock the score at 61 with just 1:37 remaining.

Powers immediately countered just seconds later with a long bomb of her own putting the Jumbos up 64-61.

The Lyons again took possession of the ball and proceeded to continue the three point trend as junior Amanda Dow-Allen converted yet another field goal for Wheaton.

With the score standing at 64 all and overtime looking to be a certainty, Tufts had one last chance to come up big in the closing seconds of regulation. Dunn took the ball from one end of the court to the other and was fouled in the process. She headed to the line with less than two seconds remaining, and the rest is history.

The Jumbos probably would not have needed Dunn's last second heroics, however, if they shot anywhere near as well as they had in the first half. Their shooting percentage dropped from a healthy 56 percent in the first half to a dismal 33.3 percent after intermission.

"Our defense, our hustle, and our aggressiveness give us things like the 56 percent shooting," Berube said. "When we turn those off, our confidence in our shooting goes off too."

Powers' 21 points was a game high. Junior Erin Buckley picked up nine points and seven rebounds. Dunn also had nine points and contributed to the team effort with six assists.

The Jumbos now look ahead to their final weekend of NESCAC play. Friday's game versus Middlebury and Saturday's contest against Williams, both at home, will determine Tufts' final position in the NESCAC standings and its seed for the league tournament set to begin on Feb. 22.

Tufts is currently tied with Middlebury in sixth place with a 3-4 league record. Williams is in third place with five wins and two losses against NESCAC opponents.

"I think we'll be up for the last two games," Berube said. "They are against two big NESCAC teams and will be fun. I hope a lot of people will come out to see the games. We are really going to fight hard."