Box Score MEDFORD, Mass. – Senior captain Michela North of the No. 3 Tufts University women's basketball team recorded game highs of 14 points and 10 rebounds, as the Jumbos' defeated seventh-seeded Williams, 58-40, in quarterfinal-round action of the NESCAC Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Cousens Gym in Medford, Massachusetts.
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| Michela North corralled her 40th career double-double on Saturday. |
Sophomore Jacqueline Knapp scored nine of her 11 points in the first half for the Jumbos (24-1, 9-1 in NESCAC), while also posting a team-high three steals and going 5-for-9 from the field. The Ephs (15-10, 4-6 in NESCAC) were led by senior guard/forward Lauren McCall, as she totaled eight points, a team-high eight rebounds and a game-high four steals, logging a game-high 38 minutes of action. Junior guard Amanni Fernandez dropped a team-high 10 points and dished out a game-high five dimes.
The second-seeded Jumbos will take on third-seeded and No. 20/21 Bowdoin (21-3, 8-2 in NESCAC) in the semifinals of the NESCAC Tournament on Saturday (4 p.m.) at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Jumbos' defeated the Polar Bears by a three-point margin, 46-43, on Jan. 6 at Cousens Gym. The Bears' posted a convincing 72-47 triumph over Connecticut College in quarterfinal-round action on Saturday in Brunswick, Maine. The other semifinal-round matchup on Saturday at Amherst will feature top-seeded and No. 1 Amherst against fifth-seeded Colby College at 2 p.m.
Junior captain and point guard Lauren Dillon (eight points, three assists, two steals) set up North for a layup 1:45 into the game, and then she buried a 3-point shot with 7:17 left in the first, giving the hosts a 5-2 lead. The Ephs, who lost by 34 points on Feb. 10 at home to the Jumbos, ensured that this game was going to be a battle, as they took an 8-7 lead on a layup by junior guard/forward Kristin Fechtelkotter with 5:50 remaining in the first.
The Jumbos' tallied a quick 7-0 spurt, as junior guard Jennie Mucciarone fed Knapp with a textbook in-bound pass, and then Knapp scored a layup and absorbed contact, converting an old-fashioned 3-point play and giving the Jumbos a 14-8 lead with 2:57 on the clock.
The Jumbos' led, 17-12, at the conclusion of the first frame, and then the hosts' registered the first eight points of the second, with a jumper by Knapp giving them a 25-12 lead with 4:54 left. The Jumbos' high-octane defense, which forced 23 turnovers, kept the Ephs off the scoreboard for the first 5:31 of the second and for a total period of 6:45, including the end of the first quarter.
Knapp knocked down another mid-range jumper with 2:06 left in the half, as the Jumbos' lead ballooned to double digits at 27-16. The hosts' took a 32-18 lead into intermission, as Knapp and North combined for 17 first-half points, going a combined 8-for-14 from the floor.
Both teams' struggled from the field during the game, as the Jumbos' shot 34.3 percent from the field (23-for-67) and 16.0 percent from downtown (4-for-25), while the Ephs' went 15-for-45 on field goals (33.3 percent) and 1-for-16 on the three-ball (6.3 percent). The Ephs' went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe and the Jumbos' buried eight of their 11 free-throw attempts.
The Ephs' refused to call it quits in the second half, as they closed the gap to 10 at 34-24 on a layup by Fechtelkotter with 7:34 left in the third. The Jumbos' scored 14 of the final 20 points in the frame, taking a 48-30 lead into the fourth.
The Ephs' trimmed the Jumbos' lead to 54-38 on a jumper by junior forward/center Lydia Zaleski with 5:59 remaining in the game, but the Jumbos did not allow the visitors to chip away any further.
The Jumbos will be back in action on Saturday at 4 p.m. for a matchup against Bowdoin in the semifinal round of the conference tournament, with an opportunity to advance to a fourth consecutive NESCAC Championship game on the line.
Written by Trevor Wenners, Athletic Communications Intern
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