Ali Rocchi was one of three Jumbos honored on Seniors Day

MEDFORD – The Tufts women's basketball team made nine three-pointers and scored 54 points in the first half for a dominating performance that led to a 92-55 win over Bowdoin in the NESCAC finale Saturday afternoon at Cousens Gym. Tufts (23-1) finishes their first perfect NESCAC season at 10-0.

The Jumbos shot 69.2 percent overall (18/26) and on threes (9/13) in a red-hot first half that gave them a 54-32 lead at intermission. Liz Moynihan, one of three seniors honored before the game, had 17 points at the half on 5 for 6 shooting overall and 3 for 4 on threes. Junior Hannah Foley was 3 for 3 from beyond the arch in the first half and scored 11 points.

Moynihan finished with 20 points and five assists to lead #5 Tufts. Hayley Kanner had 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Michela North with 14 and Foley with 13 were among the five Jumbos who scored in double digits. The 92 points scored by Tufts were the most by the team since a 95-35 win over Mount Ida on November 22, 2008.

The hosts finished at a remarkable 60.8 percent shooting overall (31/51). They were 10 for 16 on three-pointers (62.5 percent) and even 20 for 22 at the free throw line (90.9 percent). Tufts had 19 assists on 31 baskets, led by six from Kelsey Morehead. She also totaled team-highs with six rebounds and three steals.

Bowdoin, which dropped to 20-4 overall and 7-3 in NESCAC, was led by 11 points by Shannon Brady. Sara Binkhorst finished with 10 points and three assists for the #21 Polar Bears. Kirsten Prue had seven points and four assists, while Megan Phelps added seven points and four rebounds.

Bowdoin had an 11-10 advantage at 13:51 of the first half when Brady capped a 7-0 run with a lay-up. The Jumbos responded with a 12-1 stretch started by a Foley three and led 22-12 at the 11-minute mark. The Polar Bears scored the next four points and were within 22-16 with 10 minutes remaining in the first half following another Brady layup.

The Jumbos started to put it away from there. A 14-2 run led by two threes from Moynihan had Tufts leading 36-18 with seven minutes to go until halftime. Bowdoin narrowed the margin to 13 (36-23) after a traditional three-point play by Phelps at 5:41. However, the Jumbos stayed hot and soon built the lead to 20.

In the second half, Tufts continued to build upon their margin. The lead hit 31 (68-37) on a layup by North at 13:28. It topped out at 40 twice.

The Jumbos, who clinched the #1 seed in NESCAC on Friday night with a win over Colby, will play eighth-seed Wesleyan in the quarterfinals at Cousens next Saturday. Bowdoin sealed up the #3 seed on Friday night and will host the sixth seed - which has yet to be announced - in next Saturday's quarterfinals.