| Erica DeCandido scored 18 points in another low-scoring battle between the NESCAC's powerful pachyderms. File photo by Thomas Nettleton, d3photography.com |
No. 1 Tufts knocked No. 4 Amherst a step back in the three-way race for first in the NESCAC, and Messiah knocked No. 24 Albright off the list of unbeaten teams in Saturday's early women's action. In later action, No. 8 Whitman rallied past No. 16 George Fox and No. 6 UW-Whitewater stayed alone atop the WIAC.
Erica DeCandido's jumper with 1:04 left in overtime was the difference as Tufts edged Amherst 48-46 in a typically low-scoring game between the typically highly-ranked rivals. After DeCandido gave Tufts the lead, Amherst's Madeline Eck had a chance to tie the game at the foul line. She missed both shots and Tufts grabbed the rebound. The Jumbos ran the game clock down to 12 seconds before turning the ball back to the Mammoths on Eck's steal. Amherst had one more chance to tie or take the lead, but Hannah Fox's three was off the mark and the Jumbos poked the ball away from the rim, running off the final seconds.
DeCandido and sophomore Sofia Rosa combined for 36 points and 13 rebounds, including eight offensive rebounds, for Tufs (16-0, 3-0 NESCAC). Eck had 16 points, five rebounds and five steals in 45 minutes for Amherst (15-2, 3-1 NESCAC). Box score
Tufts' win preserves the chance for a rare No. 1-versus-No. 2 matchup on January 31 with No. 2 Bowdoin. The Polar Bears defeated Middlebury 80-61 to push their record to 17-0, 4-0.
Messiah rode a hot start to victory over No. 24 Albright, 82-73, knocking the Lions off the list of unbeaten teams and pulling the Falcons into a tie for first in the MAC Commonwealth. After Albright scored the first four points, Messiah scored the next 10 and the Falcons finished the first period with a 27-9 advantage. Messiah pushed the lead as high as 22 points midway through the third period before Albright rallied within five on a Dejah Terrell layup with 6:04 to play in the fourth quarter. Leah Springer responded with a jump shot for Messiah and the Falcons held Albright at arm's length the rest of the way.
Springer and Jayneisha Davis scored 25 points apiece for Messiah (12-4, 5-1 MAC Commonwealth). Terrell scored 41 and grabbed 15 for Albright (15-1, 5-1 MAC Commonwealth), giving her 74 points and 32 rebounds in the two games this week against the other two conference title contenders.
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ICYMI - Headlines from this Week |
The other two undefeated teams kept their records unblemished. No. 3 Hope stayed perfect by overwhelming another MIAA foe, this time rolling over St. Mary's (Ind.), 76-41. Olivia Voskuil, Kenedy Schoonveld and Sydney Muller scored 13 apiece for the Flying Dutch (16-0, 7-0 MIAA). No. 13 Bethel defeated St. Benedict 69-53 and set a new program-record for wins for consecutive victories (15).
No. 8 Whitman outscored No. 16 George Fox 22-4 in the fourth quarter and rallied past the Bruins in Newberg, Ore by a score of 62-54. Leading by 10 entering the fourth quarter, George Fox missed all eight of its 3-point attempts and shot 2-for-18 overall. Meanwhile Mady Burdett scored nine of her game-high 22 points in the final period.
The Blues (13-2, 5-1 NWC) salvaged a 1-1 road trip through Oregon after losing to Pacific on Friday night. The Boxers are alone in first in the NWC after beating Whitworth 82-68 for their eighth straight win. George Fox sits in fifth place in the NWC, which has a four-team tournament.
No. 6 UW-Whitewater scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter and pulled away from UW-Stout for its 13th straight win, 72-56. Freshman Aleah Grundahl scored 17 for the Warhawks (15-1, 5-0 WIAC) who sit alone atop the conference with wins over the three teams behind them in the standings.
No. 10 Scranton trimmed a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to one at Catholic, but could not complete the comeback as the Cardinals held on for the 65-62 win. After Sophia Recupero's layup pulled the Lady Royals within one with 1:36 to play, neither team scored a field goal the rest of the way. Two free throws from Amelia Baldo gave the Cardinals their final margin of victory. Scranton (12-3, 2-2 Landmark) has lost three of five after starting the season 10-0.
Sydney Kopp scored 15 straight points on her way to a school-record 42 for No. 5 DePauw, and the Tigers took care of Ohio Wesleyan, 72-53. No. 25 Gettysburg won its 14th straight, defeating Washington College, 83-53.
Christopher Newport sits alone in first atop the truncated CAC standings after shutting down Mary Washington, 63-37. The Captains (14-4, 3-0 CAC) held the Eagles to 10 field goals and 30 turnovers. Ella Eckert's free throw with four seconds left lifted St. John Fisher over Sage, 59-58, in a battle for first in the Empire 8. Eckert paced the Cardinals (11-4, 4-0 Empire 8) with 25 points and seven rebounds.
Alex Fanning had another big night and the Eagles of Benedictine College beat the Eagles of Edgewood College, 71-66. Fanning scored 25 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and blocked five shots for Benedictine (13-2, 10-0 NACC).
Mass.-Boston edged Rhode Island College 45-44 in a defensive battle where the teams shot below 30 percent combined. The Anchorwomen, who had their 11-game winning streak snapped, outrebounded the Beacons by 25 but shot 5-for-24 from three and 3-for-8 from the foul line. Tahjai Mazyck led all scorers with 17 points for Mass.-Boston 13-3, 4-3 Little East).
Western New England moved into a tie for first in the CCC with a 53-42 win over the University of New England. Lauren Chadwick paced the Golden Bears (13-3, 6-1 CCC) with 15 points. La Roche stayed in first place in the AMCC by beating Hilbert, 84-69. Jenna Cole had 21 points and 16 rebounds for the Redhawks.
Defiance stayed true to its name and refused to lose to Mount St. Joseph, eventually edging the Lions 84-82 in triple overtime. Defiance's Taylor Steinbrunner hit two free throws with two seconds left in regulation to extend the game and her teammate Briana Townley hit a three with six seconds left in double-overtime to keep it going. Maddie Haberthy played 52 minutes and scored 29 points in defeat for Mount St. Joseph.