When the final buzzer sounds and the gym empties, the W or L is all that gets entered into the record book. But there are times when the final score doesn't do justice to the on-court reality of a matchup. The intricacies and subtleties of the sport are generally overlooked on the statistics sheet, and the give-and-take of the game overshadowed by the outcome.
The women's basketball team had two of those games this weekend, and the split in the record book is equally as stark as the differences in the level of basketball that the Jumbos brought to the court.
On Saturday, the Jumbos overcame huge first-half deficits to take nationally ranked Bates to a close finish in a key NESCAC game. Despite eventually falling 76-66, Tufts' second-half challenge was enough to keep the Bobcats nervous down the stretch and showcase the disciplined, competitive basketball of which Tufts is capable.
That level of play was decidedly absent on Friday night, when the team rattled off a 69-47 victory over non-conference MIT. The Jumbos succumbed to MIT's undisciplined and scattered level of playing, allowing the Engineers to make a second-half bid and relying on huge first-half margins to cruise to the buzzer.
In Saturday's matchup, Bates played every bit as well as its No. 4 ranking right from the whistle, jumping out to early leads of 7-0, 17-1, and 22-5 before the Jumbos could regain their balance. The Bobcats held the Jumbos scoreless from the floor until nearly six minutes into the game, forcing Tufts into a one-dimensional outside shooting game by removing open looks to post players.
The Jumbos were thrown by the Bates defense, missing their first eight shots and turning the ball over three times in the first five minutes. On the other end of the floor, the Bobcats essentially scored at will during the opening minutes.
"We definitely didn't come out with the intensity that we had in the second half and that ended up hurting us," sophomore guard Taryn Miller-Stevens said. "If we had played the full 40 minutes the way we did [in the second half], I think we would have given them a really good game."
After falling behind by 17 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half, the Jumbos managed to find an offensive rhythm, closing the gap to six on a three-pointer from junior Julia Verplank. Verplank put up a dozen points, five assists, and seven rebounds for the Jumbos in only her second game back from a knee injury that kept her on the bench for most of January. But the Bobcats finished the half strong and the margin stood at 13 at the intermission.
A 10-2 Bates run to open the second half was met with an 18-3 spurt from Tufts, capped by a steal from sophomore Katherine Miller and a jumper from classmate Valerie Krah, whose 14 points and three steals were second-best for the Jumbos. But a three-point play from Bates senior Betsy Hochadel deflated the Jumbos' momentum, and Tufts would never get any closer. Bobcat senior Olivia Zurek, a two-time NESCAC Player of the Week, scored the last seven points of the game for Bates, en route to a double-double.
While the Jumbos were finally able to run their offense effectively, they were unable to find a defensive pattern to stop high-scoring Bates, which averages 80.4 points per game and seemed to have an answer for every one of Tufts coach Carla Berube's changes. The Bobcats drove the lane on the Jumbos' man-to-man defense and passed around the 2-3 zone with precision and speed.
"Bates has some phenomenal athletes," Berube said. "They're definitely a well-oiled machine and you can tell that they've been playing together for years."
At times, it seemed the Jumbos were looking at a maroon-and-white version of themselves, but a little bit better. The strengths that contributed to Bates' seamless play - offensive rebounding and second-chance points, running the break, and pressure defense - have all been integral components of Berube's game plan for Tufts this season. But the Jumbos found themselves on the shorter end of the category statistics as they ended their three-game win streak.
"The tone was really set in the first five minutes with our defensive effort," Bates coach Jim Murphy said. "I give [Tufts] a lot of credit for battling back from that and we definitely got lucky a few times during their run."
Murphy, who racked up his 200th win on Tuesday with the Bobcat's defeat of top-ranked Bowdoin, also highlighted the competitiveness and toss-up nature of NESCAC matchups.
"No question, this is the best Div. III league athletically," he said. "It's pure competition, healthy competition, and that's very refreshing. Any team can give any other team a really good game."
While the Jumbos added another tally to their win column with their win against MIT, the team failed to showcase its strengths. With only two players in double-digit scoring, the Jumbos were actually outscored in the second half 32-27 by a team that never should have been close, and coasted to victory on their massive 42-15 halftime lead. Tufts, despite a considerable height advantage, was out-rebounded by the Engineers.
At the weekend's close, the Jumbos moved to 11-9 overall, and 1-6 in league play, uncomfortable territory as the NESCAC tournament approaches. The team is home again on Tuesday against non-conference Salve Regina for their last home game.
