Box Score Recap courtesy of Babson College
BABSON PARK - Sophomore Michela North led all players with 19 points, 10 rebounds and four steals, helping fourth-ranked Tufts University defeat Babson College, 57-43, in non-conference women's basketball action on Monday night at Staake Gymnasium.
With its third straight win, Tufts is now 11-1 on the year, while Babson drops to 6-5 overall.
North finished 7-of-10 from the floor, while first-year Lauren Dillon added 15 points, three steals and two assists for the Jumbos. Senior Hayley Kanner chipped in with 13 points, five rebounds and a game-high five blocks.
Junior Linnett Graber led the Beavers with nine points and five rebounds. Senior Erin Young and junior Kristen Ferola each scored seven points off the bench, while sophomore Jennifer Narlee finished with five points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Green and White started just 1-of-9 from the floor, but cut its deficit to 9-7 at the 11:34 mark after a three-pointer by Young and a layup by Ferola two possessions later. Tufts countered with a 14-5 run though, getting seven points from Kanner, to take a 21-12 edge on trey by Dillon with 6:08 to play in the opening period.
A free throw line jumper by from sophomore Ashley Snyder and four quick points from Graber got the Beavers within 23-18, but the Jumbos went on an 11-2 run over the final 3:12 of the first half to take a 34-20 lead into the locker room. North scored seven straight points during the spurt for Tufts, which shot 50 percent from the floor in the first half.
A three-point play by Kanner, followed by a triple from Foley helped give the Jumbos their biggest lead of the night at 42-23 with 14:38 to play in the game. The Green and White responded with eight straight points to cut its deficit to 42-31 on two free throws from Graber at the 10:36 mark.
Despite getting eight consecutive defensive stops and holding Tufts without a field goal for nearly seven minutes, it was as close as they would get. Kanner and North combined for three free throws and Foley drilled another three-pointer to put the Jumbos back in front 48-31 with 7:40 left.
Young converted a feed from Narlee for a back door layup to get Babson within 50-38 with 4:17 remaining, but Dillon answered with a three-pointer on Tufts' next possession to make it a 15-point game.
The Beavers, who held a 33-30 edge on the glass, shot just 32 percent (16-of-50) from the floor and tied its season high with 22 turnovers.
The Jumbos shot 43.8 percent (21-of-48) on the night and scored 28 points off of turnovers to go along with a 22-20 advantage in paint scoring.
Babson returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Smith at 6 pm, while Tufts opens NESCAC play at Middlebury on Sunday at 3 pm.
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