STRONG SECOND HALF HELPS TUFTS WIPE OUT GORDON
WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL FINAL SCORE
Tufts 84 Gordon 76
Date: Tuesday, January 29, 2002
At Medford
| Gordon (10-8) | 39 | 37 | = | 76 |
| Tufts (9-8) | 37 | 47 | = | 84 |
MEDFORD – The Tufts women's basketball team scored the first eight points of the second half and never looked back on their way to posting an 84-76 victory over Gordon College in women's college basketball action on Tuesday night.
The Jumbos trailed at the break, 39-37. The 8-0 run to open the second half was led by junior Erin Harrington (Fall River, MA) and senior co-captain Jayme Busnengo (Buzzards Bay, MA), who had four points each. A layup by Busnengo at 18:02 gave Tufts a 45-39 lead. Tufts held a single-digit lead for the next six minutes until two free throws by sophomore Erin Buckley (East Sandwich, MA) made the margin 10, 55-45, at 12:03.
Visiting Gordon was able to whittle the lead down to four, 78-74, on a jumper by freshman Sarah DeLuca (Gray, ME) with 2:11 remaining. But it was the Jumbos who finished strong, hitting free throws down the stretch to protect their lead. Harrington had 14 of her game-high 22 points in the second half, while Busnengo had 12 of her 16 points in the second frame.
Gordon shot an outstanding 66.7 percent from the floor (18/27) in the first half, led by 13 points on six-of-seven shooting by junior Barbara Goodwin (Litchfield, CT). Tufts' answer was senior Katie Kehrberger (Waldwick, NJ), who had 15 points on seven-of-eight shooting in the first half. The biggest lead of the first half was Gordon's six-point spread, 24-18, following a layup by junior Anna Stempien (Trumbull, CT) at 7:42. There were also six ties in the first 20 minutes.
Kehrberger finished with 17 points and seven assists for Tufts, which put four scorers in double figures. Goodwin and DeLuca both scored 21 points for the Fight Scots. Sophomore Jill Pickering (Rye, NH) added 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the visitors.
Both teams shot the ball very well, with Tufts finishing at 51.7 percent (31/60) and Gordon at 50 even (30/60). The Jumbos won their second straight and moved back over .500 overall at 9-8. Gordon lost a two-game winning streak and dropped to 10-8.
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