The women's basketball team finished its regular season with a decisive 60−47 victory over Endicott on Monday night at Cousens Gym. Dominating from the opening tip−off to the final buzzer, Tufts took advantage of this final tune−up before the start of postseason competition on Saturday at Williams.
Right off the bat, the Jumbos looked determined to make a strong statement against the Gulls. A three−minute, 11−point run early in the first half, fueled by two 3−pointers from sophomore forward Collier Clegg and one from senior guard Vanessa Miller, put the Jumbos ahead 16−5 with 13:32 left in the half. A short−lived effort to counteract the deficit brought the Gulls back to 16−8 with less than 12 minutes to go, but the Jumbos quickly answered with a 14−2 run that gave them a 30−10 lead at the 5:48 mark. Offensive contributions from eight different players gave Tufts a 40−20 lead at the end of the first half.
"It was huge that we came out ready to play in the first half," sophomore forward Sam Tye said. "Our fear was that after the exciting win on Senior Day [on Saturday vs. Bates], we would come out flat against Endicott, but we didn't."
The Jumbos had a slow start to the second half, scoring only six points in the first 11 minutes, highlighted by another 3−pointer from Clegg. Endicott took advantage of Tufts' offensive lapse and went on its own offensive run, cutting the margin down to only eight points to trail 50−42 with 6:13 left in regulation.
The Jumbos' leaders came through in the clutch, however, with key offensive contributions from two seniors playing their final game at Cousens Gym. Senior tri−captain guard Colleen Hart netted two 3−pointers, while Miller contributed three of her own, helping the Jumbos regain their comfortable advantage. Tufts would not relinquish its lead for the remainder of the game, securing an important win to finish off its regular season.
"It was really important for us to win our last regular−season game, especially after our big games this past weekend," Tye said. "Recently our offense has really been clicking more. We've always been a defensive team, but it's looking more and more like we can be dominant on both ends of the court."
True to form, Tufts drew from multiple scoring threats in its regular−season finale. Hart finished with 16 points and five rebounds. Clegg and Miller joined Hart in double digits with 15 points and 12 points, respectively. Clegg, who on Monday was named NESCAC Player of the Week, had five 3−pointers for the third game in a row. Junior guard Tiffany Kornegay led the Jumbos' defensive effort with 10 rebounds and four assists.
The team's recent success, culminating in Monday night's dominant performance against Endicott, gives Tufts strong momentum heading into the playoffs.
"Monday night against Endicott and last weekend against Bates were both positive games for us and have given us some good momentum going into playoffs," junior tri−captain Kate Barnosky said. "We're playing with confidence and clicking much better offensively."
Next up is the playoffs, where Tufts, ranked fifth in the NESCAC, will travel to Williams on Saturday to face the No. 4 Ephs in the NESCAC Quarterfinals. The two teams have already proven to be evenly matched, with an overtime battle in their regular−season matchup that ended with a buzzer−beating tip−in to give Williams the victory.
"Last time we played Williams was a heartbreaker," Tye said. "We played them evenly the whole game, and unfortunately it ended in overtime with a tip−in at the last second. Williams has always been a big rival of ours. They're on our list of teams to beat, so we're glad to be getting a second chance at them this year. Since we've already played them, we'll be able to watch film and see what went wrong, so we'll be well prepared."
The Jumbos, a close team both on and off the court, may have the advantage of camaraderie on their side and will look to utilize that throughout the postseason.
"We've had great team chemistry all season long, and that can only help us in the postseason," Barnosky, a forward, said. "I think we're all on the same page in wanting to continue this season and make some noise in the postseason."
