JUMBOS GET BIG LEAD ON MIT

JUMBOS GET BIG LEAD ON MIT, CRUISE TO 69-47 VICTORY

COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FINAL SCORE
Tufts 69 MIT 47

At Medford
Thursday, February 3, 2005

MEDFORD – Sophomore guard Valerie Krah (Mountain Lakes, NJ) scored nine of her 11 points in the first half as Tufts took a 42-15 halftime lead on their way to a 69-47 victory against neighboring rival MIT in women's basketball play at Cousens Gym on Thursday night.

The victory was the third straight for Tufts, who improved to 11-8 overall. MIT lost its 11^th in a row and dropped to 3-14. Tufts senior co-captain Allison Love (Duxbury, MA) scored a game-high 13 points to lead the Jumbos, making 6 of 9 shots. Junior tri-captain Karen Kinnaman (Woodstock, NY) and sophomore Cherelle Walls (Memphis, TN) both scored 10 points to pace the Engineers.

Tufts led by 23 points just 12 minutes into the game when sophomore guard Taryn Miller-Stevens (Avon, CT) scored on a lay-up for a 27-4 advantage. The Jumbos extended the margin to 28 points, 40-12, on a jumper by sophomore Laura Jasinski (Leverett, MA) at 1:43 of the first half. The Jumbo lead was 27 at the half, with Krah's nine points and four by MIT's Kinnaman and by sophomore Sharon Prange (Arlington, VA) leading their respective teams. The Jumbos shot 54.3 percent, hitting 19 of 35 attempts.

MIT, which shot 25 percent (6/24) and turned the ball over 15 times in the first 20 minutes, emerged from the break like a new team. The Engineers scored more points in the first eight minutes of the second half than they did in the entire first, cutting the Tufts lead to 51-32 on a jumper by Prange. Twice more the visitors the visitors got as close as 19 points, but Tufts cruised to the win on the legs of their first-half performance. The Engineers out-scored the Jumbos 32-27 in the second half.

Tufts was able to use its bench early and often. Freshman Jenna Gomez (Norfolk, MA) hit 5 of 6 shots to finish with a career-high 10 points. Jumbo junior guard Julia Verplank (Zeeland, MI) returned to the line-up after missing nine games with a knee injury and contributed nine points, three assists and three steals.

MIT posted a 20-11 advantage in rebounds for the second half. Kinnaman added six boards and three assists to her game. Prange finished with eight points and five rebounds.