WESTON, Mass. – No. 7 ranked Tufts University defeated Regis College, 74-56, in a non-conference women's basketball contest on Saturday afternoon in Weston, Mass. The Jumbos move to a perfect 10-0 on the season with the win, while the Pride fall to 6-4 overall.
Regis took an early 4-2 lead on a jumper from Claire Ramonas (Portland, Maine), but three-straight triples from Kelsey Morehead (Foster City, Calif.), Caitlin McClure (Arlington, Va.), and Hannah Foley (Acton, Mass.) led to an 11-0 run by the Jumbos that gave Tufts a 13-4 lead. An and-one layup by Emilee Marro (Bedford, N.H.) at the 11:26 mark cut the deficit to 15-11, and two minutes later Marro found Alyssa Vieira-Lanpher (Princeton, Mass.) with a nifty pass on the fastbreak to make it an 18-15 ball game.
Amanda Hawkesworth (Abington, Mass.) connected on a pair of freethrows with 8:26 remaining to keep it a three point game, but the Jumbos held the Pride scoreless over the next 8:19, rattling off a 20-0 run during the streak, and taking a 40-17 lead into the final minute. Hawkesworth ended the scoreless run with a pair of freethrows with less than 10 seconds to play as the Pride trailed at the half, 40-19.
Hawkesworth led the Pride at the break with six points and six rebounds, while Emilee Marro chipped in five points and a pair of steals. Tufts was led by eight points from Caitlin McClure, while Morehead and Hannah Foley chipped in seven points apiece. The Jumbos connected on 6-of-12 three-pointers in the opening half.
Ali Berman (Fairfield, Conn.) gave Tufts a 46-21 lead early in the second period, but the Pride answered with a quick 7-0 run to cut the deficit back down below 20 at 46-28. The two teams traded baskets and another pair of Hawkesworth freebies kept it an 18 point game before Kim Daniels (Jaffrey, N.H.) rattled home a three pointer to make it a 57-40 deficit. After a stop on defense for the Pride, Janaya Bradley (New Haven, Conn.) connected on a jumper with eight minutes to play that forced a Jumbos timeout with the score 57-42.
Tufts came out of the timeout and decided to work the ball in the post as Hayley Kanner (Scarsdale, N.Y.) scored five-straight points to push the Jumbos lead back to 20. Later in the period, Daniels would hit another triple to cut the lead back to 15, but it was too little to late as the Jumbos went 4-for-6 at the charity stripe down the stretch and held on for the 74-56 win.
Regis won the rebounding battle 37-34, but the Jumbos forced 16 Pride turnovers, converting those into 13 points, while also holding a 24-18 advantage in points in the paint. Tufts shot 27-of-62 (43.5%) from the field that included nine three pointers on the day. Regis shot 18-of-48 (37.5%) from the floor, while hitting 3-of-7 triples and connecting on 17-of-21 freethrows.
Emilee Marro led the Pride with 14 points, four rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Amanda Hawkesworth just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Claire Ramonas added 10 points and five rebounds in the setback. Taylor Bunkley (Carmel, N.Y.) added seven rebounds.
The Jumbos were led by 15 points and five assists from Kelsey Morehead. Hannah Foley (11 points) and Caitlin McClure (10 points) joined her in double-digits in scoring, while Foley added six rebounds. Hayley Kanner recorded eight points, three rebounds, and a pair of blocks, while Liz Moynihan (Storrs, Conn.) came off the bench to score eight points, and Michela North (Duxbury, Mass.) added six points and six rebounds.
The Pride return to New England Collegiate Conference play on Tuesday night when they travel to Bay Path College for an 8:00 p.m. NECC game. Tufts hosts Bridgewater State University on Tuesday night in a non-league game at 7:00 p.m.