In a weekend when points were hard to come by, the women's basketball team fell to NESCAC opponents Amherst and Trinity, losing 73−35 to the Lord Jeffs on Friday night and 63−48 to the Bantams on Saturday afternoon.
"We had a really tough time on the offensive end in both games," junior guard Tiffany Kornegay said. "Against Amherst our plays weren't working, and against Trinity our shots just wouldn't fall, especially in the first half."
Saturday afternoon's game was the Bantams' first victory in four games and the Jumbos' second loss of the weekend. Trinity led 18−13 at halftime as Tufts struggled to find the bottom of the net, shooting only 33 percent from the field. The Bantams extended their marginal lead in the second half, pushing it to 18 points with 10 minutes to go and retaining the advantage until the final buzzer.
"Unfortunately our shots just weren't falling, so we couldn't get into any sort of groove offensively," freshman forward Ali Rocchi said.
But there were positives for the Jumbos, who were bolstered by the performances of Kornegay and senior tri−captain Colleen Hart, who was making her first appearance in two weeks after being out with a sprained ankle. Kornegay recorded her fifth double−double of the season, with 15 points and 10 boards, to which Hart added 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals, though she shot only 3−for−15 from the field.
"We got a lot of minutes from Colleen against Trinity, which was great," Kornegay said. "Even with an injury she's a threat on the floor, offensively and defensively."
The Jumbos' struggles on Saturday may have spawned from the emotionally draining shellacking they had suffered at the hands of Amherst the night before.
"Games like [the Amherst game] are tough to come back from," Rocchi said, "so playing Trinity the next day was hard, but I thought we brought more fight to Saturday's game."
The Lord Jeffs lived up to their No. 2 national ranking from the start, putting together a 13−point run early in the first half and cruising into the locker room with a comfortable 32−15 lead.
After both teams struggled to score early in the second half, Amherst broke the deadlock decisively, putting together a 10−0 run and preventing the Jumbos from scoring for more than five minutes. The Jumbos finally got on the scoreboard thanks to a three−pointer from sophomore forward Collier Clegg, but by then the game was well out of reach.
"Amherst is a very fundamentally sound team," Rocchi said, "and their defensive pressure makes teams do things that they're not typically comfortable with. They did a good job taking us out of our element and forcing us to change up our game. It was really difficult for us to adjust."
Amherst standouts junior Caroline Stedman and senior Jaci Daigneault led the Lord Jeffs' offense with 19 and 18 points, respectively. In the process, Daigneault moved into the ranks of Amherst's all−time leading scorers, now at No. 5 on the all−time list. On the Jumbos' side of the ball, Clegg led the team with nine points.
Still, it was not an easy loss to swallow for the Jumbos, who suffered their biggest loss and put up the fewest points in the history of coach Carla Berube's reign. Tufts had not lost this badly since a 40−point defeat to Bates on Jan. 19, 2002.
Yet the Jumbos continue to stay positive in spite of the tough weekend.
"Despite losing against Trinity, "we fought hard until the very end, so if we bring that intensity into our remaining games, minute one to forty, I have no doubt we'll be able to turn things around." Kornegay said.
The Jumbos are now 15−5 overall, with a 4−4 NESCAC record. But with a No. 10 regional ranking, the team is in danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2006−2007 season. The two losses this weekend will also prevent the team from hosting a NESCAC first round game for the first time since 2005−2006.
After a nonconference matchup at Worcester St. on Thursday, the Jumbos will face their final NESCAC opponent, Bates, on Saturday afternoon in Cousens Gymnasium. A win would likely get the team the No. 5 seed in the NESCAC championships.
"This weekend is important for several reasons," Rocchi said. "It's not only crucial for our NESCAC standings, it is also senior night for our four seniors, and we want to end our NESCAC play on a high note. We need to put together an entire 40 minutes of our intense, competitive play and finish out our regular season strong."
