NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College women's basketball team dropped an 80-56 final to No. 18 Tufts University in Friday night's NESCAC opener at Luce Field House.

Tufts shot 50 percent for the game and owned a 45-33 edge on the glass. Maggie Russell led three Jumbos in double digits with 19 points and added six rebounds and five assists. Sarah Crossett supplied 15 points off the bench while Sofia Gonzalez netted 14.

Addi Hunter (Saint George, N.Y.) and Rebecca Oberman-Levine (Hamden, Conn.) paced the Camels with 12 points apiece. Oberman-Levine finished one rebound shy of a double-double and also handed out four assists.

Conn kept it close throughout most of the first half. A three-pointer by Oberman-Levine tied the game at 21-21 with 6:31 left in the second quarter, and moments later Hunter pushed the Camels in front with a pair of free throws.

Late in the half, Tufts used a 10-0 burst to open up a double-digit lead. Gonzalez accounted for the first seven points of the run, and a three-pointer by Samantha Sousa capped the 1:28 spurt.
A layup by Mia Xerras (Charlotte, N.C.) closed the first-half scoring and left the Camels facing a 35-27 deficit. Gonzalez led all scorers with 11 points at the break.

Conn continued to chase Tufts down in the third quarter, closing the gap to 40-37 on a three-pointer by Avery Burns (Orleans, Mass.). Another three by Oberman-Levine cut the margin to two, but it would be as close as the Camels would get.

Tufts, which led by eight heading into the fourth quarter, sealed the victory by outscoring Conn 27-11 in the final period. The Jumbos opened the stanza with 12 straight points—including four from Russell—to build the lead back to double digits.

Conn College (5-8 overall, 0-1 NESCAC) will next host Bates College on Sunday, January 7 at 1:00 p.m.