The women's basketball team has certainly put on a good show so far this year. Seven of them, in fact.
Heading into winter vacation, with not quite half of its season behind it, Tufts finds itself undefeated at 7-0 and out to its best start since in 1992-93 season.
The Jumbos continue to be led by the dynamic play of junior Jessica Powers, whose team-best 16.5 points per game (ppg), highlighted by two 20-plus scoring performances, is third best in the NESCAC. The 5'8" guard, one of two Jumbos to make the 2003-2004 All-NESCAC Second Team, is shooting 54.8 percent from the floor, sixth best in the conference, doling out three assists per game, tied for tenth in the conference, and leading the team in minutes played, averaging 26 per game.
Senior co-captain Allison Love, last season's other all-conference selection, adds nearly 10 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest. Junior Julia Verplank leads the team in rebounds, pulling down six per game, and assists, dishing out 3.5 per game. She is also second in the NESCAC in blocked shots with 1.33 per game. Senior co-captain Erin Connolly and sophomore Laura Jasinski, rounding out the starting rotation, combine for another eleven points.
The surprise threat this season is sophomore Valerie Krah, who has come off the bench in every game, adding her quickness, defensive instinct, and outside shooting to the Jumbo arsenal. She is second in scoring, putting up 14.3 ppg and shooting 55.2 percent from the floor, and leads the team in three-pointers, impressive numbers for someone who averaged less than five points and ten minutes on the floor last season.
Krah is joined off the bench by a strong reserve Jumbo corps, including junior Katherine Miller and 6'0" freshman Khalilah Ummah, each chipping in an additional four ppg. Sophomore Taryn Miller Stevens has 17 assists against 7 turnovers. The distribution of scoring and playing time down the bench is proof of the depth that coach Carla Berube has cited all year as a key strength of this year's squad.
Berube has made defense a top priority in her game since coming to the Hill three seasons ago. And with an overall record of 41-13, it seems to be working. Tufts has allowed an average of only 40.5 ppg this season, barely behind Bowdoin for second in the conference. The Jumbos hold opponents to a dismal 31.1 percent from the floor, also good for second best in the NESCAC. Krah's three steals per game and Powers' 2.2 head a Jumbo defense that nabs over 15 steals per game.
This defensive intensity is combined with an equally strong, if somewhat streaky, offense. The Jumbos are shooting nearly 47 percent as a team - and nearly 43 percent from beyond the arc - to put up 70.5 ppg.
These individual statistics have translated into team success on the court as the Jumbos head into the break undefeated. Not only have they yet to register a loss this season, but with last night's win over Suffolk, the Jumbos rounded out a five-game road trip with decisive wins at each stop.
However, the team has yet to come up against real competition this season. When they return from winter break, the Jumbos will face as-yet undefeated and nationally-ranked Emmanuel, Southern Maine, and Bowdoin, the top-seeded team in the country.
While the Jumbos have been able to steadily put up big numbers, recently they have been unable to put together two halves of superior basketball. Against Wheaton on Monday, Tufts trailed by three points at halftime due to some sloppy ball-handling, yet reeled off a 27-6 run in the second half to seal the game. And the early 26-point lead the Jumbos built over Babson was just enough to fend off a subsequent 30-8 run by the Beavers.
Offense has been streaky and, at times, inconsistent, and while momentum can go in a team's favor, the pendulum swings both ways for the Jumbos.
Connolly played up the positives.
"We definitely feed off each other," she said. "When someone hits a shot or makes a good play, everyone brings their game up to another level."
Powers, however, recognized the danger in allowing other teams to do the same.
"We do sometimes lose intensity," she said. "That can't happen, especially against after we come back [from winter break]. We need to play the full 40 minutes."
The team returns to Medford on Dec. 31 to squeeze in extra practice time before its Jan.4 game against Southern Maine. The Huskies are currently ranked 17th nationally and have returned all but two players from last year's Little East Conference championship and Division III NCAA Sweet Sixteen team. Last year the Jumbos lost by 23 points at Southern Maine.
The players look forward to a week of basketball and team bonding time, with the pressures of finals behind them.
"Winter break is always a great experience," Connolly said. "We have a lot of time for just basketball, and if we play hard and stay in shape, we can definitely play with any team."
