Teams: Women's Basketball: Schedule & Results

COLLEGE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL FINAL SCORE
Tufts 62, Bates 51

At Medford, MA
Saturday, February 14, 2009

Game Statistics

Katie Puishys matched her season- and career-high with 10 points on Seniors' Day

MEDFORD -- The Tufts University Jumbos, using 17 points from sophomore guard Colleen Hart (Needham, MA), finished the NESCAC regular-season at 7-2 with a 62-51 victory over the Bates College Bobcats on Saturday afternoon at Cousens Gymnasium.

With the win, the Jumbos secured the No. 3 seed in the upcoming NESCAC Tournament, while Bates currently sits in the No. 4 position. The top four seeds host a first round contest next weekend. The Jumbos will play 6 seed Wesleyan next Saturday (Feb. 21) at 3 pm and the Bobcats host 5 seed Trinity on Saturday at 3. Tufts now stands at 19-3 overall, while the Bobcats fell to 16-8.

Offense was hard to come by in the early going for both teams, as a field goal was not made until the 14:38 mark of the first half when Tufts first-year guard Tiffany Kornegay (Carver, MA) buried a jumper. Kornegay chipped in with seven points and two assists off the bench. Each team shot below 30-percent in the half, as the first 20 minutes saw double the amount of turnovers (28) as made field goals (14). The Jumbos were able to push ahead late in the half to take a 23-17 lead into the break.

In the second half, Tufts pushed their lead to 10 at 29-19, but the Bobcats rallied with a 12-4 run to pull within two points with 12:53 left in the second half. After that point, the Jumbos seized control and built a 13-point advantage at 52-39.

The Bobcats did pull back within seven late in the game, but they could not inch any closer. Both teams shot markedly better from the floor in the second half as they each were at 48 percent. Tufts finished at 36.9 percent (24/62) while Bates ended at 33.9 percent (20/59). The Jumbos held a big advantage on the glass, out-rebounding the Bobcats 48-37, including snatching 18 offensive boards.

Bates senior forward Val Beckwith (Woburn, MA) led all scorers in the contest with 18 points and also recorded a double-double with 11 boards while junior forward Lauren Yanofsky (Belmont, MA) finished with 17 points on six of 12 shooting from the field.

Tufts senior forward Katie Puishys (Huntington Beach, CA), one of four Jumbos playing on Seniors' Day, had a fine contest. She scored 10 points on five of seven shooting and blocked two shots.

The Jumbos will finish their regular season with a non-league match-up on Tuesday night (Feb. 17) at Worcester State. Bates will be off until the NESCAC tournament.

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