Box Score 
NORTHAMPTON - At the Tyler Tip-Off Tournament at Smith College, the Tufts University women's basketball team defeated the Rowan College Profs 73-53, a commanding victory for the Jumbos in their first game since March 2020. The Jumbos pulled away with a 16-0 run in the third quarter.
Three Tufts starters turned in double-digit efforts in the season-opener. The sole returning starter, senior Molly Ryan (pictured), finished the game with a career-high 33 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Ryan shot 64.7 percent from the floor (11-17), 42.9 percent from three (3-7) and made eight of her 10 free throws. Another returning player, sophomore Maggie Russell, posted a double-double, with 11 points, 17 rebounds and two steals. Sophomore Callie O'Brien, in her collegiate debut, put up 10 points, three assists and three steals.
The Jumbos shot well and drove to the basket with ease in the first quarter, putting up a ten-point lead (18-8) with three minutes left in the period. Rowan went on a 6-0 run in the waning minutes of the quarter, but the Jumbos answered with a post-up and an easy layup off the hands of forward Angela Alibrandi to end the period leading 20-14.
In the first minute of the second quarter, the Profs went on a quick 5-0 run, but the Jumbos managed to strike back with a 6-0 run of their own thanks to two Rowan turnovers. In the last four minutes of the half, the Profs began to inch closer to the Jumbos, but Russell's layup and a Ryan free throw allowed the Jumbos to go into halftime up 36-31. Ryan led all players in scoring by a wide margin at the half, putting up 19 of the Jumbos' 36 points.
The first few minutes of the third quarter were a slow shooting start for both teams, but two consecutive threes by the Jumbos kept the team's lead intact. Midway through the period, the Jumbos scored 16 unanswered points, thanks to effective rebounding on both sides of the floor, multiple Rowan turnovers, and driving into the paint. Rowan finally answered back with a halfcourt buzzer-beater at the end of the period off the hands of junior Savannah Holt to go into the fourth quarter trailing 56-39.
The Jumbos continued their offensive and defensive aggression in the fourth quarter, expanding their lead to over 20 in the last four minutes of play. Tufts continued to force difficult shots by Rowan and score easily from the paint and in mid-range, with the Profs unable to answer the Jumbo offensive barrage. The Jumbos ended the game 73-53, a good sign of things to come for head coach Jill Pace and her squad.
The Jumbos have their second game of the Tyler Tip-Off Tournament at Smith on Sunday afternoon at 2 PM. After their Tuesday game at the University of New England, the Jumbo women's basketball team will return home for a three-game stretch beginning with a match against Brandeis on November 20 at 1 PM.
Written by Max Chow-Gillette, Athletic Communications Student Assistant
