Jumbos get buzzer Love to upset Wesleyan

The women's basketball team earned nine votes on the d3hoops.com national poll this week after going 4-1 over winter break and upping its record to 8-3 (2-0 NESCAC) on the season.

Led by junior Allison Love, Tufts knocked off nationally ranked opponents Emmanuel and Wesleyan as well as Fitchburg State and Connecticut College. The Jumbos' only vacation loss came Tuesday night against 10-2 Brandeis on the Judges' home court.

Love was named NESCAC player of the week on Monday for the second time this season after helping the Jumbos to a 3-0 record from Jan. 13-17. The forward averaged 16 points and 6.3 rebounds over the course of those three games. She scored the winning basket at the buzzer against 18th ranked NESCAC foe Wesleyan, ending the Cardinals' 11-game winning streak, and had 25 points in Tufts' victory over Emmanuel.

"[Love] has definitely been playing well," coach Carla Berube said. "She has stepped up her game and has taken on more of a scoring role."

Despite her recent play, Love could not help the Jumbos seal an undefeated break with a win against Brandeis on Tuesday. She started out quickly with 19 points in the first half, but was shut down in the second as the Judges put the verdict out on the Jumbos, 85-63.

"Our offense was not able to execute how we want," Berube said. "[Brandeis] might have doubled down on Love a little bit, but we just missed shots."

Brandeis senior center Danielle Fitzpatrick scored a career-high 32 points en route to the Judges' victory. With the effort, the tri-captain also netted her 1000th career point.

On Friday, Jan. 17, Tufts pulled off an exciting victory, beating Wesleyan 47-46 as the final buzzer blared. With 11:52 remaining, the teams stood deadlocked at 35. Wesleyan scored eight straight points to go up 43-35. Tufts then got clutch free throws by Love, sophomore Julia Verplank, and senior tri-captain Erin Buckley to go up 43-41 with 2:38 left on the clock.

Wesleyan would not go down easily as junior Nora Bowman was fouled on her tying lay-up. She drained the foul shot to put the Cardinals up 46-45 with 18 seconds remaining. On the final possession of the game, Love received the ball at the foul line and launched a shot just as time expired to win the game, 47-46.

"Wesleyan plays very tough half court physical defense. It was hard for us to score," Berube said. "In the second half we turned it up on D. It seemed like it was going to be a coin toss [to determine] who came out victorious."

The previous day, Tufts opened its NESCAC season with an 86-51 win on the road against the Connecticut College Camels. Sophomore Jessica Powers, Buckley and Love each netted 11 points on the way to the victory. A mid-first half 18-3 run started the Jumbos' momentum. After a brief lapse at the end of the first frame in which the Camels had a 10-4 scoring spree, the Jumbos put the game away early in the second half.

"[It was a] big first NESCAC win at Conn. College and a good start with two NESCAC victories on the road," Berube said.

On January 13, Tufts blew out ranked opponent Emmanuel 91-66 in Cousen's Gym. Love had 25 points in the effort and Powers followed suit with 24. After a close start to the game, the Jumbos broke it open and led by 17 at half time. Their first half success stemmed from their 61.8 percent shooting from the field.

The second frame was all Tufts as the Jumbos let Emmanuel creep no closer than 13 points. Tufts padded its lead from the foul line, sinking 16 of 19 free throws. The Saints have had three straight NCAA Tournament berths and were 28th nationally prior to the Tufts victory.

"Emmanuel plays an up and down pressing style, and they [force] a lot of steals," Berube said. "We took care of the ball, were patient and were strong with our passes. We executed our offense and made open shots, the ball just got rolling and Emmanuel couldn't get back into it."

In its first game back from the holidays, Tufts clinched a solid victory over Fitchburg State, 64-53. Powers broke back into the game by scoring 20 points and helping the Jumbos end Fitchburg State's six game win streak. Tufts' signature pressure defense forced 35 turnovers.

"We were a little bit rusty for sure, but we got that out of the way quickly," Berube said.

The team returns to action here at home tonight against non-league Keene State.

"[Keene State] has had a great program for a number of years," Berube said. "They are tough and will be a good test for us coming off the loss at Brandeis. We'll see how we'll bounce back at home in front of our crowd."