Box Score MEDFORD, Mass. – Senior captain Michela North of the No. 1 Tufts University women's basketball team became the program's all-time scoring leader on a made foul shot with 4:34 left in the first half on Saturday afternoon, as the Jumbos extended their NESCAC Conference winning streak to 38 with a commanding 73-44 triumph over Bates at Cousens Gym in Medford, Massachusetts.
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| Lauren Dillon posted six points, five boards, three assists and three steals. |
North entered the game with 1,418 points, trailing first-place Colleen Hart (2007-11) by four points. The Duxbury, Massachusetts, native, totaled 10 points in the game, to go along with four rebounds and three assists, as her fifth point of the game resulted in the crowd erupting and offering a standing ovation. She became the Jumbos' all-time rebounding leader earlier this season during a 53-37 victory against visiting Brandeis on Nov. 27.
> Watch video of Michela North's record-setting free throw
The last time the Jumbos (20-0, 7-0 in NESCAC) lost a conference tilt was during a 54-48 loss at Amherst on Feb. 2, 2013. The squad also received another strong performance from junior forward Melissa Baptista, as the Somerville, Massachusetts, native recorded a game-high 22 points on 10-for-16 shooting from the floor and a 2-for-5 performance from beyond the arc.
Senior captain and guard Josie Lee tallied nine first-half points, including going 2-for-2 on the three-ball, while she also corralled five boards. Freshman guard/forward Erica DeCandido went 4-for-5 from the floor in 19 minutes, finishing with nine points.
Senior forward Allie Coppola posted a double-double for the Bobcats (5-13, 2-5 in NESCAC) with 13 points and a game-high 15 boards, while junior forward Nina Davenport posted a team-high 16 points, to go along with five rebounds.
The visitors opened up a 7-3 lead on a layup by Coppola with 7:20 left in the first, and then the Jumbos' broke the game open with a fierce 19-0 run over the next 5:46, as Baptista gave her team the lead for good by burying a 3-point shot with 5:56 left. The spurt concluded with a trey from Lee, assisted by junior captain and guard Lauren Dillon, and then a layup by junior guard Jennie Mucciarone gave the hosts a 22-7 lead with 1:34 left in the quarter.
The Jumbos posted 24 points in the first frame, and then kept their foot on the throttle, scoring another 21 in the second, as North, Baptista, Lee and DeCandido combined for all the Jumbos points in the frame. A buzzer-beating layup at the end of the second by North gave the Jumbos a 45-22 lead heading into the third.
The Jumbos extended their lead with a 14-0 spurt in the third, which included an old-fashioned 3-point play by Dillon (six points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals) with 4:45 left in the frame. The spurt ended with a pair of made foul shots by Mucciarone, extending the hosts lead to 68-29 with 1:05 remaining in the frame.
The Jumbos' second unit posted an impressive effort on the boards, as Mucciarone, freshman guard Sadie Otley and senior forward Katy Hicks each grabbed six rebounds. Freshman guard Cailin Harrington also battled in the paint, finishing with four boards, with two on the offensive end and two on the defensive end.
The Jumbos, who have now held 18 of 20 opponents this season to 50 points or less, shot 46.0 percent from the field (29-for-63), 33.3 percent from downtown (6-for-18) and 81.8 percent from the free-throw line (9-for-11), while the Bobcats went 16-for-52 from the floor (30.8 percent), 6-for-23 from the 3-point line (26.1 percent) and 6-for-9 from the foul line (66.7 percent).
The Jumbos' defense is reaching its optimal level at the right time of the season, as the team has held eight consecutive opponents to 48 points or less. The Jumbos forced the Bobcats into 18 turnovers, and capitalized with 25 points off turnovers, while also winning the points-in-the-paint battle, 38-16.
The Jumbos will be back in action on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. matchup against Rhode Island College at Cousens Gym in Medford, Massachusetts.
Written by Trevor Wenners, Athletic Communications Intern
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