Box Score MEDFORD, Mass. – Junior forward Melissa Baptista tallied 17 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks, as she led the No. 1 Tufts University women's basketball team to a 53-37 victory over visiting Brandeis on Sunday afternoon at Cousens Gym in Medford, Massachusetts.
Baptista went 6-for-10 from the field and 2-for-5 from 3-point range, while senior captain Michela North posted eight points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. North became the Jumbos' all-time rebounding leader (852) in the victory Sunday, as she entered the game with the second most (842) in program history. The Duxbury, Massachusetts, native passed Paula Moss, who posted 848 boards in 70 games, ranging from 1978-82.
The Judges (2-2) were led by senior forward Maria Jackson, as the Rochester, New York, native posted a team-high 10 points and a team-leading nine rebounds in 26 minutes of action.
The two squads struggled to get into any kind of rhythm on the offensive end of the floor, as the Jumbos shot 27.9 percent from the floor and the Judges shot 25 percent. The Jumbos were the victorious in the rebound battle by a small margin of seven, 52-45.
The Jumbos (4-0), who forced 18 turnovers and totaled 10 steals, went up 4-0 with 6:48 left in the first quarter on a free throw by Baptista. The Judges controlled the rest of the frame, as they held a 15-8 advantage during the remainder of the first. The Judges claimed their largest lead of the contest, when senior guard Frankie Pinto drilled a 3-pointer, giving the visitors a 15-11 lead with 1:04 left in the first.
The Jumbos, who pride themselves on defensive stops, only allowed two points the entire second quarter. The Jumbos tallied 13 points in the second frame, as the squad took a 19-17 lead on a layup by North with 3:30 left in the half. Freshman guard Sadie Otley connected on a jumper with 11 seconds remaining, as the Jumbos took a 25-17 lead into the locker room.
The Jumbos extended their lead to 32-19 on a layup by Baptista with 6:59 left in the third quarter. The Judges did not allow the Jumbos to run away, as junior guard Eva Hart connected on a layup with 1:26 left in the third, trimming the Jumbos lead to 35-28.
A layup by senior guard Paris Hodges brought the visitors to within six, 41-35, with 3:21 remaining in the game. The Jumbos put an exclamation point on the contest, by finishing the game on a 12-2 spurt. Junior captain and point guard Lauren Dillon went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line during the run, while Otley and sophomore guard Jacqueline Knapp both went 2-for-2 from the foul line.
The Jumbos will be back in action on Friday (Dec. 2), as the squad will compete against St. Lawrence at the Williams Tournament in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
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