COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FINAL SCORE
Tufts 91 Emmanuel 66
At Medford
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
MEDFORD – Junior forward Allison Love (Duxbury, MA) scored 25 points and sophomore guard Jessica Powers (Massapequa, NY) backed her up with 24 as the Tufts University Women's Basketball team rolled to an impressive 91-66 victory over the Emmanuel College Saints at Cousens Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
The Jumbos, who shot 56.5 percent (35/62) for the game, improved to 6-2 with the 25-point victory over an Emmanuel team that took third-ranked Bowdoin into overtime on Saturday. The Saints, with three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to their credit, dropped to 8-4.
After a tight opening eight minutes, Tufts used a 13-4 run to take a 28-20 lead on a lay-up by freshman Taryn Miller-Stevens (Avon, CT) at 7:35 of the first half. They would not look back. That soon turned into a 14-point lead, 41-27, on a lay-up by Powers at 4:16. The Jumbos were ahead by 17 at the half, 48-31, led by Love's 15 and Powers' 14. Freshman LaTeisha Johnson (Dorchester, MA) scored 12 points for Emmanuel in the first half. In all, Tufts out-scored the Saints 33-15 in the last 12 minutes of the first half. The Jumbos finished the half with a blistering 61.8 shooting percentage (21/34).
The closest Emmanuel would come is 13 points, 48-35, in the first minute of the second half when sophomore guard Evita Esteves (North Charleston, SC) scored four straight points. When freshman Jenny Muller (Andover, MA) sank a jumper at the 8:55 mark, Tufts led 70-50 and the lead would not dip under 20 points again.
Love hit 11 of her 17 field goal attempts en route to scoring 25 points and Powers connected on eight of 14 shots. Tufts had 22 assists on 35 baskets, including 10 by sophomore Julia Verplank (Zeeland, MI), who added 14 points. The Jumbos were also a solid 16 of 19 from the free throw line (84.2 percent).
Junior Paulette Johnson (Providence, RI) and LaTeisha Johnson both had 16 points for Emmanuel. Paulette Johnson joined Love as the game-high rebounders with seven apiece. Esteves added 13 points, seven steals and five assists to the Saints' attack.
The Jumbos also finished with a 42-32 rebound advantage in an excellent all-around effort.
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