MEDFORD, Mass.—Despite holding 14th-ranked Tufts University to just 31.3 percent shooting, visiting Babson College suffered a 59-40 loss to the Jumbos in non-conference women's basketball action on Tuesday night at Cousens Gym.
Babson, which has dropped two straight games, falls to 7-4, while Tufts picked up its fourth straight victory and is now 9-2 on the year.
Junior Giovanna Pickering (Hull, Mass.) finished with 10 points and five rebounds, while sophomore Brenna LeGacy (Attleboro, Mass.) added eight points for the Beavers. Senior Kristen Ferola (Amherst, Mass.) scored six points and junior Taylor Russell (Braintree, Mass.) chipped in with six points and a team-high 10 boards.
Sophomore Melissa Baptista (Somerville, Mass.) led all scorers with 15 points, while senior Michaela North (Duxbury, Mass.) posted a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 17 rebounds to lead the Jumbos.
The Green and White opened the game with an 8-0 run and led 12-4 following a pair of Pickering free throws with 5:08 left in the first quarter. Tufts closed to within 14-11 at the end of the stanza and took its first lead of the game at 16-14 on a three-pointer by senior Maura Folliard (Richmond, Va.) with 6:37 to go in the second quarter. Despite scoring just three second-quarter points and going more than 12 minutes without a field goal, the Beavers held the Jumbos to 1-of-13 shooting from beyond the arc and trailed just 23-17 at the half.
Tufts scored on six of its first seven possessions to open the third quarter, building a 37-22 lead on a bucket by Baptista with 5:18 left in the period. Ferola followed with a three-point play and hoops from LeGacy around a layup from Russell got Babson within 42-31 late in the frame.
The Beavers cut their deficit to 42-34 on a layup by LeGacy with 8:14 remaining in the game and had two chances to get closer before Tufts ripped off a 6-0 run to push its advantage back to 12 with 4:22 left. Babson made one last push, pulling within 50-40 on a steal and layup by Pickering with 2:37 to go, but the Jumbos closed with a 9-0 spurt for the final margin.
The Green and White shot just 31.8 percent (14-of-44) and committed a season-high 27 turnovers in the loss. The Beavers were also outrebounded 44-35.
Tufts turned 23 offensive boards into 18 points and scored 26 points off of turnovers to overcome its poor shooting performance.
Babson returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Smith at 1 p.m., while the Jumbos travel to nationally-ranked Bowdoin for their conference opener on Friday at 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• Babson is now 10-14 all-time against Tufts and has dropped two straight in the series.
• The Beavers, who rank 37th nationally in scoring offense, were held to a season-low 40 points in the loss.
• The Green and White has held 10 of its 11 opponents this season below 40 percent shooting.
• The Beavers went 0-of-5 from beyond the arc snapping a streak of 30 straight games with at least one three-point field goal.