MEDFORD - The Tufts women's basketball team, ranked #9 nationally, held off Williams College 61-57 on Friday night in the NESCAC opener for both teams at Cousens Gym. The victory improved Tufts to 12-0, matching the 2007-08 Jumbo team for the best start in program history.
Sophomore Hannah Foley (Acton, MA) scored 13 points with five rebounds to pace Tufts, while junior Liz Moynihan (Storrs, CT0 added 12 points and seven rebounds. Coach Carla Berube's Jumbos will go for the program's best-ever start when they host Middlebury tomorrow at 4 pm.
Williams lost for the first time in five games, dropping to 9-2 overall. They were led by a game-high 15 points from sophomore Ellen Cook (Eugene, OR), while senior Jennie Harding (Santa Monica, CA) finished with 14 points.
The Jumbos led 35-26 at the half. They advanced to an early 13-4 margin and led by as many as 11 points three times during the first 20 minutes. Foley had 11 of her points in the first half to lead the Jumbos, while Harding had seven at halftime for the Ephs.
Williams had a late run to make the game interesting. Tufts had been up by 16 (44-28) following a free throw by senior co-captain Bre Dufault (Hampden, MA) at the 14:45 mark that capped a 9-2 run.
However, over the next nine minutes the Ephs out-scored the Jumbos 18-7 and were within five points at 51-46 on Cook's layup with 5:50 on the clock. Tufts answered by scoring the next five to lead 56-46, and the hosts had a 59-48 advantage after a pair of freebies by junior Caitalin McClure (Arlington, VA) with 3:42 remaining.
The Ephs would score the next seven points, including five by Cook to get within 59-55 with 1:37 on the clock. However, two offensive rebounds by Tufts and a layup by sophomore point guard Kelsey Morehead (Foster City, CA) with 30 seconds remaining helped the Jumbos secure the victory.
Tufts finished at 48.9 percent shooting (22/45). Kate Barnosky (Huntington Station, NY) added nine points, six rebounds and three assists, while sophomore Hayley Kanner (Scarsdale, NY) contributed nine points. Morehead finished at seven points, four rebounds, four assists, and three steals. The Jumbos turned the ball over 21 times and shot just 62.5 percent (15/24) from the free throw line.
Williams misfired from long range, making only 3 of 17 three-pointers (17.6 percent). Senior co-captain Claire Baecher (Brunswick, ME) had nine points, six rebounds, and three steals for the Ephs. Sophomore Kellie Macdonald (Danvers, MA) added eight points, six rebounds, and two assists, and senior Grace Rehnquist (Sharon, MA) had nine points.
Williams travels to Bates for NESCAC action tomorrow at 4 pm.
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