Box Score MEDFORD – Senior Erica DeCandido turned in 27 points and junior Emily Briggs finished with 18 as the No. 1 Tufts women's basketball team collected a 78-59 win over Connecticut College on Saturday afternoon on Cousens Gym. With the win the Jumbos clinch the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NESCAC tournament with one weekend of play left in the regular season.
The Jumbos improve to 22-0 overall and 8-0 in conference play. Connecticut College falls to 7-14 overall this year and 2-6 in conference games.
Connecticut College's Sami Ashton notched her 1,000th career point in the first quarter of today's game. She entered the contest needing just two points to eclipse the mark and turned in a layup with 3:49 remaining in the first quarter to reach the milestone.
The two teams played a close first quarter. With the score locked at four, the Jumbos got a jumper from Briggs and then a layup from DeCandido. Briggs added another jumper after that and another layup from DeCandido put the Jumbos up eight, 12-4, nearly halfway through the first quarter. Claire Gulbin cut the lead to five with a three for the Camels, but the Jumbos went up seven thanks to a layup from Briggs. Ashton brought the Camels within five with a layup, and that's the way the rest of the first quarter would go. The Jumbos where ahead 22-17 after one played.
Both teams traded baskets for the first half of the second quarter. The Jumbos outscored the Camels 12-0 in the final 4:32 of the second quarter to take a sizable lead into the break. Briggs started it with a layup and a jumper to put the Jumbos ahead seven. Sophomore Sofia Rosa then turned in a layup, and a layup from DeCandido pushed the Jumbo lead to 11 with 2:21 on the clock. Two free throws from Rosa gave the Jumbos a 13-point advantage, and then DeCandido turned in another layup to increase the lead to 15 with less than a minute to go. The Jumbos took a 42-27 lead into halftime.
The Jumbos opened up the third quarter with a layup from senior Cailin Harrington and would hold that 17-point lead for most of the quarter. Down by 18 about halfway through the quarter the Camels got a layup and the free throw after from Casey Walsh, and then Jenna Whelan brought them within 14 with a free throw. But, the Jumbos answered with a layup from DeCandido and another from junior Erin Poindexter-McHan. After Ashton made one of two at the charity stripe, the Jumbos scored six consecutive points to close the third quarter with a 60-38 lead.
Tufts maintained that lead, leading by as many as 25, on their way to the 78-59 win.
DeCandido led all scorers with 27 points and she also added six rebounds and three assists. Briggs finished with 18 points and four boards. Both Rosa and freshman Maggie Russell each turned in nine points off the bench for the Jumbos. Rosa also added eight rebounds. Harrington finished with two points and ten rebounds.
Gulbin led the Camels with 14 points and three rebounds, while also collecting three assists. Ashton and Whelan each added ten points and three rebounds. Walsh finished with eight points and six rebounds. Dana Muckstadt tallied eight points and four boards.
The Jumbos are back in action on Friday when they host Middlebury for a 7 pm start. The Camels play again Monday, as they travel to Babson for a 7 pm game with the Beavers.
