COLLEGE WOMEN'S
BASKETBALL FINAL SCORE
Trinity 61
Tufts 56
At Medford
Friday, February 10, 2006
MEDFORD – Trinity College junior Sarah Cox (Norwell, MA) posted game-highs with 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the visiting Bantams to a clutch 61-56 victory at Tufts University in a NESCAC women's basketball game on Friday night at Cousens Gymnasium.
Both the Jumbos and the Bantams entered the game tied with Middlebury College for sixth place in NESCAC. The top eight teams qualify for the conference tournament that starts on February 18. Trinity improved to 8-13 overall and 3-5 in the league. The Jumbos dropped to 9-12 and 2-6.
Trinity got off to a tremendous start in the game, hitting seven of their first 10 shots. They led 20-7 eight minutes into the game on a lay-up by Cox. Another lay-up by Cox put the score at 25-13 Bantams with 8:11 on the clock, and her free throw at 3:43 produced another 12-point margin at 26-14. The Jumbos were able to recover, scoring the next eight points to pull within 26-22 on a lay-up by Jessica Powers (Massapequa, NY) with 57 seconds remaining in the half.
Despite shooting 26.7 percent (8/30) from the floor in the first half, the Jumbos trailed just 28-22 at intermission. Cox had 13 points and six rebounds at the break for Trinity. Junior Valerie Krah's (Mountain Lakes, NJ) five points led the Jumbos.
Krah got hot early in the second half, sinking two three-pointers in the first five minutes to help the Jumbos take a 33-30 lead. The margin would remain very tight over the next 10 minutes, never exceeding four points either way. A lay-up by Tufts sophomore Jenna Gomez (Norfolk, MA) tied the score at 43-43 with 5:18 on the clock.
Trinity junior Catherine Maher (Newtown, CT) and Cox then hit huge back-to-back three-pointers to give the Bantams a 49-43 advantage at 4:27. They would not trail again. Tufts was able to slice the margin to two points, 49-47, on a pair of free throws by junior Libby Park (Massena, NY) at 3:30. However, the Bantams got consecutive hoops from Jasmine Johnson (District Heights, MD) and Mary Lennick (Edina, MN) to lead 53-47 with 1:27 remaining. They were then 8 for 8 from the free throw line in the final 65 seconds to lock down the victory.
Maher joined Cox as the Trinity leaders in the win, registering 13 points with five assists. Lennick scored 10 points and had five rebounds for the Bantams. Trinity, which used just seven players, also got nine points and six rebounds from Leigh Melanson (Woburn, MA).
Tufts was led by Krah's 16 points, including four three-pointers. Powers finished with 10 points and four rebounds. Senior guard Julia Verplank (Zeeland, MI) was her versatile self with eight points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Trinity took over sole possession of sixth place in the conference with the victory. The Jumbos are tied for seventh with Middlebury. The last day of the regular season is Saturday.
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