Box Score BRIDGEWATER – The No. 1 Tufts University women's basketball team used a strong defensive performance to down Bridgewater State University, 80-31, in nonconference action on Tuesday night.
The Jumbos remain undefeated and improve to 8-0 on the season. The Bears fall to 2-6 on the season.
Hannah Dziadyk got the first basket of the contest to fall, 2:08 in to the first quarter. Senior Erica DeCandido made a layup to get Tufts on the board, but Olivia Dziadyk traded the layup with a jumper of her own. Junior Sadie Otley sunk a pair of free throws before Destiney Fitzgerald made a layup of her own. She later made one of two free throws as the Bears led, 8-4, through the first four minutes of play.
Sophomore Molly Ryan got Tufts back to within two with a jumper. Senior Lily Paro buried a corner three to give the Jumbos their first lead of the contest at 9-8. Ryan just a minute later added a pair of free throws to extend the Jumbo lead. Otley drove strong to the basket and had a layup roll in for her first field goal of the contest. Sophia Gaucher made a layup to get the Bears back on the board, but Ryan sunk another pair of free throws to give the Jumbos a 15-10 lead through the first quarter. The Bears had 10 turnovers in the opening quarter with seven being steals by the Jumbos.
Bridgewater State returned to the full court press but strong ballhandling and vision allowed Otley to send a bounce pass forward from the center court logo to sophomore Sofia Rosa who had a wide open layup. Again, Otley found Rosa with strong vision as the Jumbos jumped on the fast break after a strong outlet pass by Ryan. Ryan would extend the Jumbo lead to 10 with a layup following another steal. She converted on the three-point play.
The Bears cut the lead back down to seven on a Fitzgerald layup but Decandido and junior Emily Briggs combined for six straight points to close out the second quarter with the Jumbos leading, 32-19.
A pair of Briggs free throws opened the scoring in the second half. Briggs continued working in the paint as a layup extended the lead to 15. Ryan aggressively drove down the floor. She backed up and waited for the team to join her and she slung a pass to Otley who found Briggs down under the basket. Ryan found free space on the next possession and buried a three-pointer. Keeping with the hot hand, Briggs hit a jumper on the next chance down the floor. That gave the Jumbos a 41-19 lead.
Just passed the halfway point of the quarter, Bridgewater State made their first basket of the half on a Fitzgerald layup. Tufts continued to extend their lead as they lead by 29 to close out the quarter. A buzzer beater by Fitzgerald closed out the quarter. The Jumbos lead by as many as 31 which came late in the quarter.
The strong defense by Tufts continued to give the offense opportunities as they would outscore the Bears 24-4 in the final quarter.
Ryan and Briggs finished with a team-high 14 points each. Ryan had five rebounds, two assists, and four steals. DeCandido added 10 points and had nine rebounds. Otley chipped in with four points, five rebounds, four steals, and a game-high seven assists. 12 different Jumbos recorded points in the win.
Fitzgerald led all players with 18 points. She also added six rebounds and two blocks. Hannah Dziadyk chipped in eight points.
Tufts shot 51.7% from the field compared to 28.9% for Bridgewater State. The Bears committed 32 turnovers, 18 of them were steals by the Jumbos.
The Jumbos return to action on December 28th at the Stevens Holiday Tournament. Their first game will come against Christopher Newport at 7pm. Bridgewater State closes out their fall semester at Suffolk University on Thursday. The opening tip is scheduled for 5pm.
