Tuesday, December 13, 2005

POWERS SCORES 1,000^TH POINT FOR WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM

MEDFORD – With 2:41 remaining in the second half at Wellesley College on Saturday (Dec. 10), Tufts University senior tri-captain Jessica Powers (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) gave the Jumbos a 64-37 lead with the 1,000^th point of her collegiate career. Tufts went on to win the game, 66-42, and Powers finished with 15 points to land squarely on 1,000 points in her 78 games with the Jumbos.

Powers is the eighth Jumbo to score 1,000 points. The last to do so was Emily Goodman, who reached the milestone during her junior season in 2001-02. Powers has an outside shot at becoming the all-time leading scorer at Tufts. With at least 16 games remaining in the regular-season, her current pace of approximately 15 points per game would put her at 1,240 for her career. The record is 1,257 set by Teresa Allen in 1985-89.

Powers burst upon the scene in 2002-03, earning New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Rookie of the Year after leading Tufts with 13.5 points per game (324 total). That team, in its first year under Coach Carla Berube, finished 17-7 after a 9-14 season in 2001-02. The Jumbos set a team record with a nine-game winning streak that season.

As a sophomore in 2003-04, Powers was named to the All-NESCAC Second Team after scoring 12.8 points per game (306). Last year, Powers scored 11.6 points per game (278). Through six games this season, she is scoring at the best clip of her career with an average of 15.3 ppg. Powers has not missed a game in her Tufts career. The Jumbos have posted a 54-24 record during her four seasons at Tufts. She is also fifth on the team's all-time assists list with 252. Her 91 three-pointers are fourth all-time.

"Jess has been the face of Tufts Women's Basketball since the day she stepped on campus," Berube said. "Jess has a superior work ethic and an enormous passion for the game of basketball and for her teammates.  She is an extremely talented, all-around unselfish basketball player.  She always takes pride in her defensive and the team's accomplishments first and foremost, but is a tremendous scorer and deadly shooter from long range.

"Jessica reaching the 1,000 point plateau is a tribute to all of her teammates from these past four seasons," Berube concluded. "I hope they all share in this great accolade."

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