Box Score MEDFORD - The 24-1 Jumbos advanced to the semifinal round of the NESCAC tournament after defeating the 12-12 Hamilton Continentals 64-43 at Cousens Gymnasium. Tufts earned the top seed in the tournament for the third straight year, while Hamilton made their second consecutive and second overall appearance in the post-season tournament. This was the first post-season meeting between the two teams. Three players finished with double-digit point totals for the Jumbos, while Continental junior guard and NESCAC scoring leader Samantha Graber ended the contest with a game-high 23 points.
A very smooth, energetic start on both ends of the court allowed the Jumbos to jump out to an early 10-0 lead, forcing Hamilton head coach Michelle Collins to call a quick timeout less than three minutes into the game.
The Jumbos produced some fantastic buckets in the early going. Lauren Dillon fired a dime to Michela North inside who turned and put the layup home. Minutes later, North had an emphatic swat on defense, ran the floor, received a pass inside, only to immediately find her open teammate Josie Lee on the wing, who swished a three-pointer.
The Jumbos continued to roll through the first half and would increase their lead to 18 at 24-6 with less than 6 minutes remaining. Tufts would go into the break up 37-14.
Graber, who unloaded 27 points on the Jumbos during their regular season meeting, led Hamilton with seven points in the half, three of which came from behind the arc and four of which came from behind the free-throw line. The three-pointer would be her only made field goal of the half as she was kept to just seven shot attempts in the frame.
Kelsey Morehead saw her first game action since December 28th when she suffered a knee injury against Scranton. She played limited minutes, but proved she hadn't missed a beat as she sank two of her three shot attempts, both of them from long range.
Hamilton shot 19% from the field in the first half and converted more free-throws than field goals, while Tufts shot 48.5% from the field and had 12 more shot attempts than the Continentals.
The second half began slower, but Tufts steadily extended its lead to 33 points after a Roberson long ball and pretty fastbreak dish to North who finished the short jumper.
But the Jumbos would not score points again until more than four minutes later, as the Continentals hit their offensive stride, taking off on an 11-0 run to bring the deficit down to 22. Freshman guard Lauren Getman had five points during the streak, which eventually ended with just under eight minutes left in the game.
The teams traded hoops for much of the rest of the way. Graber went off for 16 points in the stanza helping the Continentals to outscore the Jumbos in the second half. Hamilton shot a much-improved 41% from the field and a terrific 92% (11 of 12) from the charity stripe in the second frame.
A balanced Jumbo attack saw North finish with 12 points and both Dillon and Kanner finish with 10 apiece, while Tufts dished out 17 assists to the Continentals' 5. North also collected a game-high 14 boards, 13 of which were grabbed in the first half. Maura Folliard came off the bench and hit two jumpers in the first half for Tufts. Many Jumbo reserves were able to gain a chunk of post-season minutes at the end of the game.
As Tufts remains the highest seed in the tournament, the Jumbos will host the semifinal and final rounds of the NESCAC tournament at Cousens Gymnasium next Saturday and Sunday. Game times will be announced this coming week.
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