If the women's basketball team wants to take a big step toward securing a NESCAC regular-season title this weekend, it will first have to settle a score with a bitter rival.
The nationally ranked No. 15 Jumbos will hit the road for a pair of critical conference games this weekend with the opportunity to solidify their hold on first place in the NESCAC. The marquee matchup will take place tomorrow when Tufts takes on national No. 9 Amherst and attempts to avenge a pair of losses to the Lord Jeffs last season. But before getting too far ahead of themselves, the Jumbos will have to contend with an upstart Trinity Bantams squad in Hartford, Conn. tonight.
Entering this weekend alone atop the NESCAC with a 5-1 conference mark, the Jumbos are squarely in the driver's seat. With a weekend sweep, all the team would need is a home victory over Bates on Feb. 14 to clinch its first-ever NESCAC regular season title.
But five teams, including both the Lord Jeffs and the Bantams, remain hot on Tufts' trail, sitting within 1.5 games of first place. With so much congestion near the top of the league standings, one loss would likely cost the Jumbos their place atop the conference, and two could drop the team out of contention for a home game in the first round of NESCACs.
"This weekend means a lot to how everything will all play out with our seeding in the NESCAC Tournament," coach Carla Berube said. "These are two very big games, and we have to take care of our game [tonight] before we think about Saturday."
Besides looking to maintain its tenuous hold on first place, Tufts will also be eager to exact revenge on an Amherst team responsible for adding a dash of disappointment into its otherwise stellar 2007-08 season. Of the four losses the Jumbos suffered last year, half came at the hands of the Lord Jeffs, and neither setback was easy to swallow.
On Jan. 18, 2008, Amherst put an end to the best start in Tufts' history, netting a buzzer-beating layup from then-sophomore forward Samantha Swensen to depart Cousens Gym with a 64-62 win. Six weeks later, the two teams met in the NESCAC championship game, when once again the Lord Jeffs emerged victorious, keeping the Jumbos from winning their first conference crown.
Amherst graduated many of its key players from last year's squad, which made a run to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament after winning NESCACs, but the young players who have filled the void have been no less effective. While the Lord Jeffs had three seniors and one junior in their starting lineup the last time they played the Jumbos, this weekend they will feature a starting five that includes three sophomores and one freshman. Despite its inexperience, Amherst opened to a program-best 18-0 start and climbed as high as fourth in the national polls.
"This year in the NESCAC in general, there are a lot of young teams," senior co-captain Stacy Filocco said. "There aren't a lot of seniors when you look at any of the teams. In some cases, that makes certain teams unpredictable and all the more dangerous, I think. In terms of Amherst, they're very aggressive, they play very tough, and they can score, so they'll definitely present a challenge."
But the Lord Jeffs forfeited a bit of their momentum last weekend when Bowdoin went into LeFrak Gym on Friday and beat them on a buzzer-beater, 63-61. The next day, Amherst got all it could handle from Colby, but the Lord Jeffs escaped with a 65-64 victory to advance to 19-1 on the season.
Tufts, meanwhile, is coming off of a lackluster performance of its own, a 66-60 victory over a 3-17 UMass Dartmouth squad that had to trek through a snowstorm to reach Cousens Gym Tuesday and saw five of its players on court for virtually the entire game.
"I have faith in the team that we'll rise up after a poor effort on Tuesday," Berube said. "This is the end of the season. We need to pick it up and stay consistent with great basketball. No matter who we're playing, no matter what part of the game it is, we've got to play Jumbo basketball. I'm confident that we'll do that this weekend. We seem to rise up when we're playing the best competition, and we certainly have that this weekend."
Before their showdown against Amherst tomorrow, the Jumbos will first have to take on a Trinity team that at 15-3 is guaranteed its first winning season since 2000. A year after finishing in last place in the NESCAC, the Bantams have risen to the middle of the pack this season, holding a 3-2 in-conference mark.
"They're legit; they beat a good Wesleyan team and got some quality wins in their non-conference schedule." Berube said. "They've risen from last year and have really picked it up. It'll be a tough game [tonight]."
"Trinity is first, and that's definitely our priority and all we're thinking about right now," Filocco added. "But we have been waiting since last year to avenge our losses against Amherst. I think most importantly, we're just trying to play well, and we're confident that if we do that, then everything else will follow."
While aware of the stiff competition ahead, the team admits it's difficult not to consider all that could potentially come out of this weekend's action. Still, the Jumbos will try to keep their focus on the task at hand.
"I think we all understand that if we win out, we'll get the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC Tournament," Berube said. "I'm sure my team looks at [the standings], and I definitely do look myself, but we're more worried about the games straight ahead of us. None of that stuff means anything if we don't take care of Trinity [today]."
