Looking Back (Feb. 15) | Women's Basketball 83, Bowdoin 56
The women's basketball team scored one of the biggest wins in program history on Friday, dominating the seven-time defending NESCAC champion Bowdoin Polar Bears 83-56 at Cousens Gym. The victory gave the Jumbos their 20th win of the season, setting a new program record. The squad added another win to their total the next day when it cruised past Colby 84-60 at home on Senior Day.
The weekend results launched Tufts to the No. 15 spot in the latest D3hoops.com poll, six spots up from their previous ranking. The Jumbos were sensationally efficient on the offensive end against Bowdoin, shooting 57.8 percent from the floor, their highest shooting percentage in coach Carla Berube's tenure with the team.
Senior co-captain Khalilah Ummah led the way for the Jumbos, posting 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 12 rebounds against the Polar Bears. She followed that up with another double-double, including 10 offensive rebounds, against Colby, and was rewarded with her fourth career NESCAC Player of the Week award.
Fellow senior co-captain Jenna Gomez added a career high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while junior forward Katie Tausanovitch chipped in 16 points and seven rebounds.
Tufts, the No. 2 seed in the NESCAC Tournament, will face the seventh-seeded Middlebury Panthers in the first round at home on Saturday.
Looking ahead (Feb. 22) | Boston Celtics at Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns will host the Boston Celtics tomorrow in a matchup of two of the top four teams in the NBA, and a potential preview of the NBA Finals in June. The teams have yet to face each other this season. The game will be Shaquille O'Neal's second in a Suns uniform following the blockbuster trade that sent him from Miami to Phoenix in exchange for forward Shawn Marion, Marcus Banks and draft picks.
The deal, orchestrated by Suns general manager Steve Kerr, is one of the most controversial of a free-wheeling NBA season due to O'Neal's age and the steep price at which he came. O'Neal, for his part, is a force when healthy, and he recently signaled his rejuvenation by christening himself with a new nickname: "The Big Cactus."
At 41-11, the Celtics feature the best record in the NBA, and received All-Star forward Kevin Garnett back from injury on Tuesday night. Guard Ray Allen enters the game following his 26-point outburst in the All-Star Game last Sunday. Fellow All Star guard Paul Pierce, the final member of the team's vaunted Big Three, is averaging 20.7 points per game this season.
Before consecutive losses at Denver and Golden State, Boston had been 16-0 against Western Conference teams.
