For senior tri-captain Jessica Powers, the 31-point thrashing by Bates on Saturday afternoon was the last straw.
Refusing to allow her team to crawl blindly into the postseason after its promising 5-1 start, the senior steadied the rickety Jumbos, scoring nearly half of their points en route to a 55-50 win over Salve Regina.
The victory improved Tufts to 9-11 overall, giving it the opportunity to finish .500 with two wins this weekend in the final home-stand of the regular season. The Seahawks' loss broke a six-game winning streak, dropping them to 14-7.
"Coming in, we weren't concerned about Salve [Regina] or their streak," coach Carla Berube said. "We focused on ourselves, and we got done what we needed to do."
With the game tied at 46 with 3:46 remaining, Powers scored six straight points on a three-pointer and three free throws to hand her team a 52-46 advantage with just over one minute in regulation. The senior finished the game with 24 points, cashing in on 14 of her 16 attempts from the free-throw line.
"It was definitely time for me to step up," Powers said. "I've been trying in the past few games, but my shots weren't falling. I knew I needed to keep shooting and doing what I knew how to do best."
The team's leading offensive threat, Powers encountered a mid-season dry spell, failing to reach double-figures for four straight games.
On a team that has struggled at the foul line, entering Tuesday's game shooting just 60.9 percent from the line, Powers attacked the hoop, getting fouled and consistently converting her opportunities.
"Jess got our offense going, especially from the foul line," junior forward Libby Park said. "She did a great job, got us pumped up, and helped us to pull out the win. We haven't been the best free-throw shooting team, and it was great that we could convert [from the foul line] tonight."
Still, the Jumbos finished 16 for 25 from the charity stripe as a team. Aside from Powers, the team made only two of nine.
Park and classmate Valerie Krah provided Powers with some offensive support, scoring 10 and 11 points, respectively.
The game was a battle until the end, with ten ties and the lead changing hands 21 times. Tufts finally pulled out the much-needed victory and gained some momentum for the crucial weekend match-ups against Trinity on Friday evening and Amherst on Saturday afternoon.
The Jumbos held the Seahawks to no field goals in the final five minutes, as Salve Regina's only points came from the foul line. Tufts' scrappy defense induced 26 turnovers, leading to 15 fast-break points.
"Our defense helped us down the stretch," Berube said. "We played good [defense] - we held them to 50 points. We executed what we needed to at the end of the game."
Despite their struggles throughout much of December and January, the Jumbos have fared well against non-conference opponents, finishing their non-conference schedule at 7-6.
At 2-5, the Jumbos are tied for sixth place in the conference with Trinity and Middlebury. Amherst is 4-3. The top eight teams make the playoffs, so a win this weekend will ensure a playoff spot for the team. If the Jumbos drops both games, their fate will be in the hands of the other teams in the league.
"We go into each game one game at a time," Powers said. "This was a huge game for us. Our confidence is definitely up right now; we know what we're capable of. Our goal is to go 3-0 this week - [with this win], we're almost halfway there."
