Women's basketball wins in close finish

The women's basketball team squeaked out arguably its biggest win of the season this past Saturday afternoon, 66-59 versus NESCAC rival Bates. It was the first time Tufts had beaten the Bobcats since 1995.

The win, which was the Jumbos' third straight, improved the team's overall record to 12-2 on the season and 2-1 in league play.

As in several recent matches, Tufts started off the first half a bit flat-footed, allowing two Bates baskets and nearly five minutes to pass before scoring a single point. However, the team took the lead 6-4 at 14:43 and did not trail for the rest of the game thanks to a characteristically strong defense.

"Defense is the name of the game and is why we won," coach Carla Berube said.

Bates helped the Jumbos' effort throughout the first frame with poor shooting and mental mistakes. The Bobcats' fast-break style offense failed to capitalize in the Jumbo zone after several steals and the defense committed many sloppy fouls throughout.

The first half mainly saw Bates playing catch-up and Tufts just barely holding on to the lead. With ten minutes remaining, the Bobcats looked as if they might take control after cutting Tufts' lead to one at 12-11.

However, junior Erin Buckley's strong presence under both hoops helped keep Bates down. Buckley had 20 points and 14 rebounds along with two steals and four blocked shots over the course of the game.

"I don't really know what happened today. I just stepped it up and tried to make a statement in the NESCAC," Buckley said.

The Bobcats simply could not keep Buckley covered. She seemed to always be open and in the right position.

"Buck came up big tonight," Berube said. "She has a distinct height advantage and played great on both ends. Lately the way she's been practicing, playing and giving the effort, I knew she would have a game like this."

Even though Buckley provided a strong presence in the center, Tufts' lead was still in jeopardy throughout the second quarter. Missed shots and overthrown cross-court passes hurt the Jumbo attack and allowed Bates to remain in the game going into the break, with the score 35-27.

After intermission, Tufts again took some time to warm up. Bates intercepted two long passes, but was only able to convert one into two points. Tufts also had trouble with its lay-ups and deep shots, and the Jumbos did not put points on the board until nearly five minutes had elapsed.

Sophomore Erin Connolly hit a three pointer with 15:22 remaining that woke the team up. The Jumbos began to bring down more rebounds and turn Bates' mistakes into points. Tufts maintained about a five point margin over the Bobcats for the majority of the half.

One of the key players for Bates was senior captain Carla Flaherty. After averaging 19.5 points per game last week and shooting 57 percent from the field, she was a force the Jumbos had to take into consideration.

"We finally got a hand up in Flaherty's face," Berube said. "That made it really hard on their offense."

Even after providing a spark in the second half, sealing the deal at the end of the game once again proved to be a challenge for Tufts. Bates rallied back from a 59-51 deficit with 2:15 remaining to tie the Jumbos at 59. It seemed as if momentum had shifted to the Bobcats and the Jumbos were struggling to hang on.

After a quick time out with 1:50 left in the game, Tufts freshman Jessica Powers and Julia Verplank teamed up to put the Bobcats away for good. Powers came out and immediately nailed a three-pointer to give the Jumbos a three-point lead. On the ensuing play, Verplank stripped the ball from a Bates guard and dribbled the in for an easy lay-up. Just seconds later, Verplank had another steal in which she drew a foul and made the resulting two shots to finalize the score at 66-59.

"Jess hit a big shot in the corner, Julia got some key steals, and we really got in their passing lanes," Berube said. "We were confident we were going to pull through. We knew we didn't want what happened last Saturday against Wesleyan."

With the win, Tufts is tied with Colby and Middlebury for fourth place in the NESCAC with a 2-1 league record.

"This game was so important to us. Bates destroyed us last year and averages 78 points a game," Buckley said. "Now we have confidence going in to our upcoming games."

The squad will be in action again on Tuesday at home against non-league opponent, Clark College. It will also match up with NESCAC rival Amherst on Friday.