HOBOKEN, NJ (December 30, 2022) -- Junior
Maggie Russell finished with game-highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds Friday evening, but it wasn't enough as the No. 19 Tufts University women's basketball team was topped by No. 7 University of Scranton 68-59 in the Stevens Holiday Tournament title game from Canavan Arena.
The Jumbos (8-3) were quick out of the gates on Friday night, taking their largest lead of the game with 2:08 into the game at 7-2 on a jumper from first-year forward
Sarah Crossett. Scranton (12-0) rallied back and finished the first quarter 7-2 run to take a 21-17 lead into the second quarter.
The Lady Royals started the second stanza on a 9-2 spurt to take an 11-point edge with eight minutes to play in the first half. Tufts would clamp down defensively, holding Scranton to no made field goals over the final five minutes of the period while finishing with an 8-0 run to trail by just one at the half at 32-31.
For the second straight period, Scranton came out quick and regained its 11-point lead at 44-33 on a free throw by Samantha Rajza. First-year
Sophia Davis helped start a 7-0 run for the Jumbos to get back within four, trailing by just one after three quarters at 49-48 after a Russell free throw with five seconds left in the period.
Another slow start in the fourth quarter would be too much to overcome though for the Jumbos, as Scranton posted a 9-0 run over the first 5:34 of the fourth quarter to take control. Tufts got as close as six with 3:42 to go on two
Samantha Sousa free throws, but wouldn't be able to complete the comeback. Scranton shot 7-for-11 in the fourth quarter to help hold off the Jumbos.
Russell tallied her third double-double of the season and second straight Friday, as she went 8-of-22 from the floor while hitting two of her five shots from deep. Davis finished off a strong week in her home state, as she tallied a career-high 15 points and four rebounds. Davis was 7-of-10 from the field Friday.
Sofia Gonzalez scored six points for Tufts, while
Annika Decker added six assists in the loss. Tufts shot 34.9 percent from the floor Friday, but connected on just 5-of-22 attempts from behind the three-point line (22.7 percent). Tufts held a 23-6 edge in points from the bench, but was plagued in foul trouble much of the night.
Scranton was paced by the 18 points and seven rebounds from Kaci Kranson, while Hannah Angelini and Rajza recorded 15 and 13 points, respectively. Maddy Ryan also pulled in a game-high 10 rebounds for the Lady Royals.
Tufts will stay in the New Yorki Tri-State Area, battling New Jersey City University Sunday, January 1 to ring in the New Year in Jersey City, NJ at 3 p.m.
--JUMBOS--
