MEDFORD, MA (November 15, 2024) -- The Tufts University women's basketball team will have been practicing for nearly four weeks before their season-opening contest at Brandeis University on Saturday, November 16. Each day, the squad walks in and practices under the many, many banners that the program has been fortunate to hang over the year. It's a program with tradition and expectations, but last season the Jumbos fell short as Tufts finished 11-13 on the year.
But that was last year, and this team is excited about embracing the challenge of getting back to the tradition of winning. Despite losing four seniors, including the program's second-leading scorer in
Maggie Russell, the Jumbos return seven of their top nine scorers. Head coach
Jill Pace is excited about this year's group, especially the mentality that it has brought. "The intensity has been great, we're excited about doing some things on defense and trying to be more up tempo with our speed and athleticism," said Pace.
The Jumbos also do have an experienced leadership group that has been to an Elite 8 and understands how to rise up in big moments. "I think what I've seen most is their responsiveness to coaching," said Pace. "That speaks volumes that a group of upperclassmen just wants to get better on a daily basis and wants to show the younger players how we do things. I think they've held themselves to a higher standard from a focus stand point. From a what we are trying to do standpoint which has trickled down."
Every team is different, and with four first-years coming in, the energy and excitement they have brought has been apparent. "They've been incredibly coachable. They've been very receptive to both my feedback and what we need them to do. It's always a hard adjustment, but they've been listening to what we're saying and they've done it with a lot of intention and energy has been appreciated by everyone."
With a new group though, expectations have not changed though.
"Our team has really high standards and expectations for this program, which I love," said Pace. "What has changed is approaching each practice and each game as this is what we're here to do now. Approaching every opponent with our focus of Brandeis and not into the future. I think we have a good day-to-day perspective, which is going to lead us to the larger goals in the long run."
Pace isn't shying away from challenging her squad in the hopes that great out-of-conference schedule will lead to New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) success.
"My philosophy as a coach is that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best," said Pace. "In order to beat the best, you have to play the best...whatever the outcome is, it's a learning experience. We want to be playing at our best in conference in February and in order to do that we have to challenge ourselves in November and December."
Along with that philosophy of playing the best, Pace also talked about her seeing this group of players set a culture that worked for them. "We re-evaluated some things, which you should do every year, and that came back to looking at standards," said Pace. "We wanted to look at our core values, having more team meetings...the outcome is having everyone in our program be on the same page about everything."
One thing's for sure though for this Tufts squad, and that's they will play with intensity and fire for a full 40 minutes. "Our core values are pride, selflessness and accountability. We are incredibly focused on accomplishing tasks while having a clear focus on what we need to do to translate things to the floor."
A full breakdown is below:
GUARDS
The Jumbos bring back their top three starting guards from last season, including senior point guard
Annika Decker, combo guard
Callie O'Brien and three-point specialist
Sofia Gonzalez.
Gonzalez was second on the team in scoring with 10 points per game, while nailing 44 three-pointers and posting a team-high 54 steals, fourth-most in the conference. Gonzalez has earned All-NESCAC in her career, and will look to pick up another honor as a senior. Decker is the engine that runs the Jumbos, as her energy, defensive prowess and ball handling is key. Decker averaged 5.0 points per game as a junior, and also led the team with 63 assists while shooting 47.1 percent from the field.
O'Brien is back for a fifth year after finishing fourth on the team as a senior in points with 5.0 per game, adding 63 helpers and 19 steals in 24 starts. O'Brien was one of the best players for Tufts in its 2023 NCAA Tournament run, and the Jumbos will look for her to get back to that standout form in 2024-25.
Guard depth will be strong for the Jumbos, as
Annie Aspesi,
Stella Galanes,
Hannah Kelly and
Annie Ryan look for breakout years. Aspesi is a fantastic defender and rebounder at the guard spot, while her three-point shooting will be huge after the junior made 18 triples last season. Galanes is another good defender who likes to get out in transition and attack the rim off the bounce. Galanes played well down the stretch as a first-year and will look to continue to take the next step.
Graduate student
Hannah Kelly dealt with some injuries as a senior but was a big contributor as a junior, playing 31 games while hitting 19 three-pointers in 2022-23.
Annie Ryan played in 18 games as a first-year and is a steady, solid option at guard that can handle the ball, play point guard and is a knockdown shooter as well.
First-year guards
Monet Witherspoon and
Claire Kolkhorst will also work to get into the lineup this season for the Jumbos.
FORWARDS
The Jumbos bring back strong options in the front court, including a healthy
Sarah Crossett, who returned during the middle of last year's season after injury. A full-time starter as a first-year, Crossett is a good shooter, passer, can attack off the bounce and rebounds well. She should be in for a strong season for the Jumbos.
Classmate
Sophia Davis played in 22 games for Tufts as a sophomore, and showed breakout signs through the season. Davis also had glimpses as a first-year, and could be a huge breakout candidate for the Jumbos in 2024-25. Senior
Mikayla Paquette played in 19 games as a junior, but her ability to provide a spark off the bench has been valuable in previous seasons. Paquette has a very well-rounded offensive game, shooting 56 percent as a junior.
Senior
Caitlyn O'Boyle is another strong option for the Jumbos up front, as one of the team's top rebounders and defenders in the post. O'Boyle has had strong stretches up front and her rebounding rate was best on the team last year. Sophomore
Hope Nardone has looked fantastic in preseason for the Jumbos, as her length defensively and ability to score in a variety of ways will be a huge asset this year.
First-years
Abi Stone and
Siobhan Stapleton also bring great size and potential to the front court as the pair looks to carve out a role for Tufts as newcomers.
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The Jumbos will get their season started on Saturday, November 16 at 1 p.m. at Brandeis University.
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