Box Score SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Junior captain and point guard Lauren Dillon posted a team-high 13 points and a game-high five assists for the No. 1 Tufts University women's basketball team during a 60-55 victory over Skidmore College at the Williamson Sports Center in Saratoga Springs, New York.
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| Josie Lee recorded eight points and four rebounds for the Jumbos. |
The Jumbos (2-0) also received strong performances from senior captain Michela North (six points, 10 rebounds), sophomore guard Jacqueline Knapp (12 points, four rebounds, three assists), junior forward Melissa Baptista (eight points), senior guard Josie Lee (eight points) and freshman guard Sadie Otley (seven points).
Junior guard Kelly Donnelly tallied a game-high 20 points and a team-high nine rebounds, as she went 6-for-13 from the field and 7-for-10 from the foul line for the Thoroughbreds (1-1). Senior center/forward Migle Vilunaite also starred for the Thoroughbreds, as she posted 16 points and six rebounds, while shooting 6-for-12 from the field.
The Jumbos built a 14-4 lead on a layup by Baptista with 5:05 remaining in the first quarter. The Thoroughbreds made the game a six-point contest at the end of the first, as Donnelly connected on a free throw with 15 seconds remaining in the first, making the score 16-10 in favor of the Jumbos.
The Thoroughbreds kept chipping away, as a layup by Donnelly cut the Jumbos' advantage to 22-20 with 5:01 remaining in the first half. Dillon, who shot 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, drilled a 3-pointer with 36 seconds remaining in the half, giving the Jumbos a 10-point cushion, 32-22. Junior guard Ari Fustini found the bottom of the net from 3-point range with five seconds remaining in the half, as the Jumbos went into the locker room with a 32-25 lead.
Donnelly registered an old-fashioned 3-point play with 6:40 left in the third, as she brought the Thoroughbreds to within two, 38-36. The Jumbos scored the next five points, as a jump shot by Otley gave them a 43-36 lead with 2:44 remaining in the third. The Thoroughbreds responded once again, by trimming the Jumbos' lead to two points on back-to-back made free throws by Donnelly with three seconds remaining in the quarter.
The Thoroughbreds carried the momentum into the fourth quarter, by scoring the first six points. A layup by Donnelly with 4:31 left in the game gave the Thoroughbreds a four-point lead, 49-45. Knapp nailed a 3-pointer with 2:46 left for the Jumbos, and then junior guard Veronica Moceri connected on a pair of foul shots, giving the Thoroughbreds a 51-48 lead with 2:23 left.
Baptista rose to the occasion for the Jumbos, as she registered an old-fashioned 3-point play with 2:09 left, and then Moceri stepped to the line and made two free throws again, giving the Thoroughbreds a 53-51 advantage with 1:56 left.
The Jumbos outscored the Thoroughbreds, 9-2, the rest of the way, as a pair of made free throws from Otley gave the Jumbos a 55-53 lead with 59 seconds remaining. Otley hit a clutch 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining, and then Dillon iced the game by connecting on a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining. Sophomore guard Maya Bell connected on a jump shot for the Thoroughbreds with six seconds remaining, but the Jumbos held on for the 60-55 victory.
The Jumbos will be back on action on Tuesday at 6 p.m., as the squad will compete in its home opener against visiting Wheaton College at Cousens Gym in Medford, Massachusetts.
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