For two weeks, the women's basketball team's season has been stuck in neutral. It was forced to wait out the remainder of the NESCAC tournament after an early exit and sit through the always nerve?racking process of selection for the NCAA tournament.
But, as the Jumbos prepare to put things back in drive tonight for their first?round matchup with St. Lawrence, the break was quite literally just what the doctor ordered.
"We went really hard in practice, but without a gam, it was also time for recovery," graduate student co?captain Kate Barnosky said. "So I think we're feeling a lot better, physically and emotionally."
Barnosky was just one of a host of players suffering toward the end of the team's regular season, playing the finale against Hamilton at far less than 100?percent capacity in her surgically?repaired leg. Sophomore point guard Kelsey Morehead, suffering from concussion symptoms stemming from an incident in the team's Feb. 1 game against Trinity, sat out the game against the Continentals and just made it back in time for the NESCAC quarterfinals against Bowdoin. Junior guard Caitlin McClure missed both games after turning her ankle.
The time off served not only as a chance for Tufts to get better off the court, but also to revive its energy in the game. Getting positive results on the offensive end became a struggle for the Jumbos by the end of the year, who had two of their five worst shooting days of the year in their final two games, converting on just 32.8 percent of their shots in each and dropping to 91st in the Massey offensive ratings, an advanced statistical system for Div. III basketball.
Sophomore and leading scorer Hannah Foley went just 2?for?12 from the field against Bowdoin and reached double figures just once in her last five games after doing so 15 times in her first 20.
Two weeks was enough time for almost a complete audit of the squad's offense.
"We got to really go back to the basics and work on executing our offenses and breaking each offense down to find what was going wrong and where we could improve," senior co?captainBreDufault said.
While the time off may also have helped the Jumbos recover from their crushing conference tournament upset, the best medicine came on Monday afternoon, when the Jumbos learned they would be hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year. For a team that is 21?3 at home over the past two seasons, there is no questioning the value of such an opportunity.
"I was pumped; it's really exciting," Dufault said of learning the team would be hosting. "It's a special feeling, being in the gym. I don't know what it is. There are the decorations, everything is all clean. It's not stressful like traveling somewhere; it's playing in your court where you feel comfortable."
"Last year, hosting for the first time was awesome," Barnosky added. "Looking back on those two games, it gives me chills, because it was just a great environment that I'll remember for the rest of my life."
Home?court advantage will play a major role in the Jumbos' first round matchup, especially as they go up against a St. Lawrence squad that is just 6?6 on the road this season.
The Saints' most intriguing player is six?foot sophomore guard Kara McDuffee, the team's leading scorer, who may not quite get the size mismatches she's used to against a tall Tufts backcourt. Still, as a 35.4?percent 3?point shooter, she's the team's biggest threat to get hot and keep things interesting if the Jumbos don't put a hand in her face. Kelly Legg, the Saints' 6?foot?2 junior forward, provides a secondary scoring threat with her similar height advantage.
"It's all about recognizing that that girl's hot right now, and we need to shut her down before she gets on a run and gets some confidence," Dufault, who was awarded NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year earlier this week, said.
On paper, the Jumbos go into tonight's game as heavy favorites. The Massey ratings have Tufts as the nation's No. 10?ranked team, while St. Lawrence sits all the way down at No. 138. But with the loss to Bowdoin still fresh in their minds, Tufts players will take nothing for granted.
"We need to come out hungry and on fire," Barnosky, who was named a first team All?NESCAC player, said. "Then we just need to execute, stay composed and really take them seriously. We know every team in the NCAA tournament is a good team, and every opponent is playing for their season. It's one game and done, so we really just have to have that fire. We have a target on our back, but we need to know that and perform anyway."
If Tufts can get through St. Lawrence, tomorrow it will face one of two teams to which it has dropped season openers on the road in recent years. The Jumbos' more likely opponent is No. 16 Babson College, who is favored against a tough SUNY New Paltz squad that has dropped just three games this season. The Beavers are led by senior center Sarah Collins, whose 18.9 points per game are good enough for No. 29 in the nation. She had 32 points and 10 rebounds in her team's conference final, and was good for 18 points and 14 rebounds in Babson's 73?64 win over Tufts in 2011.
"It's all about our help defense, and we're not going to let one girl beat us," Barnosky said. "We have five people out there, and we can stop any star in my opinion. We have the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, and we'll stick her on her. I also think that our starting lineup, with me at guard, adds some height anyway."
If the Jumbos intend to get through the weekend alive, they might very well need to survive a close game, something they've struggled with in the past. In last year's Sweet 16, an errant inbounds pass on the Jumbos' final possession sealed a heartbreaking loss. In this year's NESCAC quarterfinals, the team often struggled to find good looks quickly as they traded baskets down the stretch with Bowdoin. Any such issues this weekend could spell an early end to the team's season.
"A lot of it has to do with experience, and I do think that we have gotten better in close game situations now this year with sophomores on the court, whereas last year we had a lot of freshmen," Barnosky said. "We have pulled out some of those close games - Bridgewater, Williams - and we worked on situation drills this week, so we know better what to execute."
The bracket has been set, and the sky is the limit for a team coming off the best regular season in program history. With a potential rematch with Amherst in the cards for the Sweet 16, there is even more incentive to prove the critics wrong and make a deep tournament run. And coach Carla Berube's team is confident they can do just that.
"There's a lot of hunger to do even better than last year," Barnosky said. "We know we didn't play anywhere near our best in our loss that ended our season, so I think we have high expectations. But we also realize that every single play can be the difference against such great teams."
