Most matchups between two of the top 10 women's basketball teams in the country are exciting in and of themselves. But when you throw other factors into the mix — a bitter rivalry that has played out on the biggest of stages and produced rather extraordinary drama, for instance — you get something a little bit more than your run-of-the-mill clash of two national powerhouses.
In these cases, you get one of the most highly anticipated regular season basketball games in school history.
On Saturday afternoon in Cousens Gym, nationally ranked No. 10 Tufts will host No. 1 Amherst in the latest chapter of one of the NESCAC's best rivalries. Aside from the hysteria that would typically accompany a matchup of elite teams, this weekend's contest will also be played against the backdrop of a contentious history, one that hasn't exactly been kind to the Jumbos in recent years.
Since the beginning of the 2007-08 season, Tufts has won 66 of the 77 (.857) games it has played, but not once during that stretch has it beaten Amherst. Though each of the teams' last four meetings during that span have been close — none has been decided by more than six points — the Lady Jeffs have come out on top every single time, including once on a buzzer-beater and twice in the NESCAC Tournament.
"The upperclassmen have been through this with Amherst," junior tri-captain Colleen Hart said. "We've lost to them three or four times … Every game it seems like we're right there with them, and we haven't been able to close those games out."
That both teams are currently at the peak of their success has only added to the intrigue of Saturday's matchup. In the most recent D3hoops.com national rankings, released early Monday evening, the Jumbos climbed inside the top 10 for the first time in program history, a nod to their 18-2 overall record. The Lady Jeffs, meanwhile, vaulted out of the No. 2 spot — where they had spent the entire season — and took over the nation's No. 1 ranking from Illinois Wesleyan.
It's certainly a well-deserved honor for Amherst, which has opened to a 19-0 start and beaten all but one of its opponents by double digits. Though the Lady Jeffs have suffered their share of key injuries, their incredible depth — seven different players have led them in scoring this season — has enabled them to overcome.
"They're very deep, and one through 12, they're solid," coach Carla Berube said. "They've got a lot of scorers — it's not like you can stop one or two or three or four. You've just got to play an all-around great game from everyone of your positions."
But at the same time, the polls have put the target squarely on Amherst's back and only helped to ratchet up the intensity for Saturday's game.
"Definitely every year, it's the game we look forward to," senior tri-captain Katie Wholey said. "It just makes it even bigger that they're the No. 1 team in the country, and they haven't lost, either."
"The pressure is on them," Berube added. "They're having that magical season where they're undefeated, almost at the end of the year, and I'm sure they want to keep that going."
For all the hype surrounding its game against Amherst, Tufts is making sure it doesn't overlook Trinity (14-5, 2-3 NESCAC), which will head to Cousens Gym tomorrow night to kick off the NESCAC weekend. The Bantams are in the second year of a remarkable turnaround, which has taken them from the cellar to contention. They made some noise on Dec. 29, when they knocked off then national-No. 8 Thomas More in Daytona Beach, Fla., and now, they'll try to prevent the Jumbos from locking up home-court advantage through the first round of the NESCAC Tournament.
"We saw them knock off Thomas More, and we know that they're no team to take lightly," senior tri-captain Vanessa Miller said. "I think it's a blessing and a curse to be in the NESCAC. On any given day, any team can beat any other team."
But tomorrow's contest against the Bantams is nonetheless regarded as just the prelude to Saturday's showdown, which the Jumbos know will provide them with a unique opportunity to learn once and for all where they stand relative to the nation's best.
"D-III is very regionalized, and it's really hard on a regular basis to get games that will put you in the spotlight on a national level, and so anytime you can get an in-region No. 1 team onto your own court, it's a big deal," Miller said. "It's a chance to make a really big national statement for us, so we're excited for it."
