JUMBOS WIN FIRST NESCAC GAME IN CONVINCING FASHION
COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FINAL SCORE
Tufts 84
Connecticut College 49
At Medford
Saturday, January 29, 2005
MEDFORD – The Tufts women's basketball team earned its first NESCAC win of the season on Saturday with an 84-49 defeat of Connecticut College at Cousens Gym. Sophomore guard Valerie Krah (Mountain Lakes, NJ) led four Jumbos who scored in double digits with 18 points.
The win also stopped a seven-game losing streak that had been Tufts' longest since 1999. The Jumbos improved to 9-8 overall and 1-5 in NESCAC with their first victory since January 8. Connecticut College, which was led by a game-high 20 points from freshman Katy Serafin (Carmel, NY), dropped to 7-11 overall and 0-6 in the league.
The Jumbos never trailed in the game after scoring the first nine points. The Camels came back from their slow start to tie the game at 12-12, but that is as close as they would get. The Jumbos again scored the next nine points and led 21-12 on free throws by sophomore Laura Jasinski (Leverett, MA) at the 10-minute mark. The Camels kept it close in the first half, hitting 15 of 29 shots (51.7%) from the floor. The Tufts lead was just eight points at the half, 41-33. Serafin had 12 points for the Camels and senior co-captain Allison Love (Duxbury, MA) had 11 at the break for Tufts.
Tufts blew the game open in the second half, when they out-scored the Camels 43-16. A three-pointer by senior co-captain Erin Connolly (Syosset, NY) to open the half gave Tufts a double-digit margin that they would continue to build upon. A jumper by Love made their lead 17 points, 56-39, at 12:42 and a jumper by Jasinski gave the Jumbos a 63-45 margin at 8:47. The Camels would score just one point in the final 7:42 of play. Tufts out-scored their guests 21-1 down the stretch and the lead grew to a game-high 35 points by the final buzzer. Tufts was 16 for 29 (55.2%) from the floor in the second half, while the Camels were just 6 for 29 (20.7%).
Love continued her strong play of late with 16 points and eight rebounds. Tufts earned a major advantage on the boards at 52-32. Junior guard Jessica Powers (Massapequa, NY) finished with 14 points and six assists while Connolly hit three trifectas and scored 13 points. Jasinski grabbed eight boards.
Serafin added six rebounds for the Camels, who were just 1 of 9 from three-point territory. Sophomore Casey Thran (Dalton, PA) finished with eight points and freshman Devon Kearns (Glastonbury, CT) added five points, four assists and three rebounds.
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