The nationally ranked No. 19 women's basketball team will face some unique challenges this winter break as it looks to continue its hot start to the 2009-10 season.
Of the 6-1 Jumbos' probable next four opponents, none has appeared on the team's schedule since 2002. At the end of that stretch is a two-game swing at the Land of Magic Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla., in which Tufts will have to come off a two-week layoff and take on non-conference opponents from northwest Pennsylvania and southeast Wisconsin.
"Florida is going to really test us as a team because we're getting on a plane without practicing, flying down there and playing a game," junior tri-captain Vanessa Miller said. "It's going to put a lot on us all individually to work as hard as we can over break.
"It'll be nice to see teams that we haven't seen yet in a non-NCAA [Tournament] setting. We're all excited to branch out a little bit."
Things will certainly begin to feel a bit more familiar for the Jumbos once the calendar flips to 2010. Tufts opens the new year with a Jan. 5 showdown against New England heavyweight and national No. 17 Emmanuel in Cousens Gym, before renewing its rivalry with Bates in a non-conference matchup on Jan. 9.
Those two contests will be the Jumbos' final tune-ups for their all-important slate of NESCAC games, which begins with road trips to Williams and Middlebury the weekend before classes resume.
In addition to preparing for the start of its conference schedule, the Jumbos will spend the winter recess on milestone watch. Shooting over 50 percent from beyond the arc this season, junior tri-captain Colleen Hart needs four three-pointers to tie the Tufts career mark of 139 set by Val Krah (LA ‘07). Meanwhile, coach Carla Berube is closing in on the program's all-time wins record, a mark she'll surpass if her team runs the table over its eight-game holiday slate.
