Box Score
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Ali Berman was clutch down the stretch for the Jumbos
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ROCHESTER, NY - A three-point play by junior Ali Berman with 44 seconds remaining in regulation broke a 65-65 tie and helped the Tufts women's basketball team win its 2013-14 season opener against Baldwin Wallace, 71-70, on Friday afternoon.
The game was the opening contest of the Chuck Resler Tournament hosted by the University of Rochester. The Jumbos (1-0) will play the winner of today's Rochester versus Medaille game in the tournament final on Saturday at 6 pm.
Berman's 12 points and 13 each by junior Hayley Kanner and first-year Michela North led the Jumbos. Berman hit five of seven shots, while North was four for seven with six rebounds and two blocks in her collegiate debut.
Jessica Lairson's 22 points for Baldwin Wallace (0-1) was the game-high total. Shari Mangas finished with 19, while Lexi Rohrbach had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Tufts held a 39-31 advantage at the half, with 27 of the Jumbos' first-half points coming off the bench. Berman and North both had seven and senior Liz Moynihan had six in the first 20 minutes for Tufts. Rohrbach's nine led Baldwin Wallace.
The Jumbos were able to hold on to a slim lead in the second half until the Yellow Jackets tied the score at 51-51 on a three-point play by Mangas with nine minutes remaining. Baldwin Wallace then took a 53-51 lead on a lay-up by Rohrbach before Tufts tied it on a lay-up by Kanner.
Tufts stretched its margin to five, 61-56, on a lay-up by Kanner with 3:30 remaining, but BW clawed back again and tied the score 65-65 on a three by Mangas with just over a minute on the clock. Berman's three-point play pushed Tufts back ahead. She then grabbed the rebound when the Yellow Jackets missed an attempt at the other end.
The Jumbos hit free throws while BW missed a pair of shots making it 71-65 in the closing seconds. Lairson scored five points in the final 10 seconds for BW, but it wasn't enough as the Jumbos held on.
The BW women returned 12 letter winners and two starters from last season's squad that finished 16-9 overall and 11-7 in the OAC.
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