AMHERST, MA (January 13, 2023) -- Sophomore
Sofia Gonzalez scored on a back-door lay-up with 5.3 seconds left and host Amherst College's three at the buzzer was just off the mark as the Tufts University women's basketball team came from behind to earn a tough 56-54 league win over the No. 21 Mammoths in play from LeFrak Gymnasium Friday evening.
Tufts (11-4, 2-0 New England Small College Athletic Conference) had to play comeback in the second half, as a pair of free throws by Reeya Patel put the hosts up 40-35 with 4:30 to play in the third. The six-point edge for Amherst was its largest of the game, but the Jumbos would pull back to within two at 46-44 on a bucket from senior
Callie O'Brien going into the fourth quarter.
The Jumbos quickly regained their lead at 48-46 with 7:40 to play on a lay-up from junior
Maggie Russell of a nice high-low feed from first-year
Sarah Crossett. Amherst's Anling Vera answered with back with a three-pointer as the lead changed hands once again. With just under six minutes to play, Russell hit a free throw and came right back with an insane reverse lay-up to put Tufts up 51-49 and force a timeout.
The Mammoths would come out of the timeout on a mini 5-0 run to lead by three with 1:53 to go, as Vera hit another three-pointer to make it 54-51. After a timeout from Tufts, Russell scored on a rebound put-back and Crossett tied the game seconds later from the free throw line to make it 54-54. On the next possession, Tufts forced a shot clock violation on Amherst to give the ball back to the Jumbos with 34 seconds left.
After another timeout Tufts worked a perfect out-of-bounds play as Russell found a streaking Gonzalez on a back-door cut, and Gonzalez finished with her right hand with under six seconds to play to give the Jumbos the lead. After Tufts took a foul on the inbounds by Amherst, the Mammoths got a potential game-winner off at the buzzer but it was just off the front iron as Tufts earned the win.
The game was as close as it could get all night long, featuring five lead changes and five tied scores while neither team led by more than eight points. The Jumbos came out quick in the first half, as a Gonzalez three-pointer made it 12-4 with just over four minutes left in the first quarter. Amherst came back with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 14, as the quarter finished deadlocked at 17. The two teams would exchange the lead multiple times in the second quarter, but the hosts finished the half on a 9-2 run to lead 34-30 at the intermission.
Gonzalez finished with multiple career-highs on the night as she poured in 22 points in 38 minutes, going 9-of-18 from the floor, all career-highs. She has now scored in double figures in four straight games, and seven of her last nine points. The sophomore also tallied eight rebounds Friday.
Russell had another double-double in the win for Tufts, going 6-of-16 from the floor while scoring 14 points, pulling in 12 rebounds and handing out a team-high four assists. Crossett and junior
Hannah Kelly each tallied seven points for the Jumbos, who shot 37.1 percent (23-62) on the night. Tufts finished with a 28-16 edge in points in the paint on Friday.
Amherst (11-4, 1-2 NESCAC) only played six players on Friday night, but Vera had a big game with 25 points, going 6-of-10 from behind the three-point arc. Kori Barach finished with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Patel also contributed 12 points and nine rebounds.
The Jumbos will now head to Clinton, NY for more NESCAC action, taking on Hamilton College Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. from Scott Field House.
--JUMBOS--
