Tufts Loses to Williams in NESCAC Playoffs

Just moments after the final buzzer sounded on the Tufts women's basketball team's 73-52 loss to the Williams Ephs, senior tri-captain Maritsa Christoudias collapsed to the floor of Cousens gymnasium. Christoudias' actions seemed to symbolize the feelings of the rest of the team -- exhausted and distraught.

The Jumbos were unable to overcome an energized Williams' team in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC playoffs on Saturday afternoon.

"It's a very tough loss," Christoudias said. "We knew it was going to be our last game at home, but we weren't expecting it to be the last game of [the seniors'] careers."

Tufts came flying out of the gates, building an 11-2 lead in the game's first five minutes in what was looking like a repeat of last weekend's contest. However, after that stretch, the Jumbos were unable to get into any offensive rhythm for the rest of the half and were forced to take ill-advised shots from around the court.

Williams turned up its defense and was able to score the game's next ten points to take a 12-11 lead with just under 12 minutes left before intermission.

"We came out playing great D and then we dropped off and let them back in it," sophomore guard Jessica Powers said. "At the time, coach was telling us to step up on defense and get into the passing lanes so we could get back on offense and execute."

Despite their lack of rhythm, the Jumbos were able to stay close for the majority of the first half. But after a jumper by junior forward Allison Love brought Tufts to within two with six and a half minutes to play, the Ephs went on a 12-4 run to close out the half. The Ephs defensive intensity led to fluid offense and, led by Maggie Miller's 12 points, cruised into the locker room with a 36-26 lead.

The Jumbos shot just 35 percent from the floor and committed an unusual 16 turnovers in the first. Only sophomore guard Jessica Powers seemed unfazed by the defensive pressure, scoring 16 of the Jumbos 26 points on six of nine shooting in the first 20 minutes.

In the locker room, coach Carla Berube and senior tri-captains Christoudias, Erin Buckley and Kate Gluckman looked to motivate the team to come out strong in the second half.

"Coach inspired us in the locker room, reminding us that we were only five baskets down, that it was practically a tie game," Powers said. "At that point nobody was thinking that we were out of the game by any means."

However, Williams came out where it left off. Sophomore Colleen Hession drilled a long three-pointer to increase the Williams lead to 13, a lead that remained in double digits for the ten minutes of the second. The Ephs focused their defensive attention on Powers, crowding her and forcing her to pass off of her penetration instead of shooting.

However, Powers' backcourt and classmate Julia Verplank came back in the second half after sitting out most of the first in foul trouble, taking some of the pressure off of Powers.

"I had more shot opportunities in the first half," Powers said. "In the second half they were stopping me shooting which forced me to look for other players. It worked out because other people were able to contribute which was what we needed."

With eleven minutes to go in the game and Williams up 16, the Jumbos began to creep back into the game. Junior Erin Connolly took an inbound pass from Powers on the far corner of the court and swished home a three pointer to cut the lead to 13. After the Jumbo defense forced a turnover, Connolly struck again, nailing one from the top of the key to bring Tufts to within ten.

After lay-ups on subsequent plays by Connolly and Christoudias, both on pretty passes by Powers, the Jumbos were back within six points, energizing both the players and the home crowd.

"It was a great run. Erin Connolly made some huge shots," Christoudias said. "Our defense got better during the run, every basket we got came off of a turnover."

After a timeout by the Ephs, Tufts wasn't able to keep its streak going.

"Everyone was really intense about playing hard because we were coming back," Powers said. "Coach just told us to keep building on the run, focusing on getting one basket at a time.

Williams, however, came out of the timeout very composed and responded to the Tufts run by scoring 16 of the next 19 points, led by Miller, Hession, and senior co-captain Sarah Dickens.

"They were getting into the middle on us and putting up shots that just seemed to fall, and we stopped scoring," Powers said. "Basketball is a game of runs and that was shown yesterday. They just happened to wind up with the last run."

The scoring spree took the life out of the Jumbos, who still fought hard until the final buzzer.

Powers led Tufts with 16 points despite going scoreless in the second half, and seven assists. Junior Allison Love added 11 points and nine rebounds. Miller scored 20 for the Ephs and Hession had 17. The Ephs join the undefeated Bowdoin College Polar Bears as the only teams to have defeated the Jumbos at home this season, avenging last weekend's loss to Tufts in Williamstown, 59-37.

The loss marked the final game in the careers of seniors Christoudias, Gluckman, and Buckley.

"We knew that the season was going to end with a loss, it just came earlier for us than we expected," Christoudias said. "They were so much more intense this time. We just weren't prepared for it. Last time it was the other way around, we were more intense. The roles were completely reversed this time."