Key to the basketball team's winning ways the past two seasons under coach Carla Berube has been its ability to put a lot of points on the board. Last season, the Jumbos finished the regular season second in the NESCAC, dropping an average of 70 points per night on their opponents.
The Jumbos graduated a few players who provided scoring punch and were sparks on offense. Returning role players and incoming freshmen will need to step up to fill the voids. Tufts will miss Maritsa Christoudias, who started all 24 games for the Jumbos last year and averaged about five points and five rebounds per game.
Kate Gluckman, who averaged five points and 3.5 rebounds per game, also graduated. Erin Buckley, who averaged 5.5 points and five rebounds per game as well, was the third senior to leave the team for the real world. Sophomore Jenny Muller, who transferred to Amherst College, also chipped in five points a game while shooting 39 percent from behind the stripe.
Despite these losses, the Jumbos still return last year's top three scorers in juniors Jess Powers and Julia Verplank and senior co-captain Allison Love. Love and Powers led the team in scoring, averaging about 12.8 points apiece last season. Verplank was third with nine per game. While these three should continue to put points on the board, the Jumbos will need their role players to step up.
Wellesley sophomore transfer Laura Jasinski could lend some of this much-needed scoring support. Jasinski averaged 5.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game last year for the Blue and is expected to see time at the power forward and center positions to help replace Buckley.
"Laura's a good post player," Verplank said. "We think she can help us a lot."
"She's really strong," Powers added. "We're going to look inside for her often."
Coach Carla Berube is also confident that Jasinski will play a big role this year.
"Laura's a great presence in the post and she's also a very good rebounder," Berube said. "She's a very smart player."
Another player who could step up this year for the Jumbos is sophomore Valerie Krah. Krah sat out part of last season with injuries, but she is expected to be a big contributor this season. Last year, Krah played in 15 games and averaged 4.4 points per game.
Finally, senior co-captain Erin Connolly is also expected to make an impact. Last season, Connolly averaged about four points per game.
"Erin's a really good leader," Powers said. "She'll help us increase our scoring."
"Erin can shoot the ball and we're looking for her to step it up as well," Berube added.
Sophomore Taryn Miller-Stevens averaged three points per game last year and is also expected to provide some scoring punch off the bench at the point guard position.
Berube is confident incoming freshmen will add a new dynamic to the team.
"We've got some athletic freshmen," Berube said. "It's hard to predict with freshmen because you don't always know what you have till you start the games, but I'm optimistic. They're working hard."
