MEDFORD, MA (November 23, 2024) -- The Tufts University women's basketball team led by seven with seven minutes to play, but couldn't hold on as the Jumbos suffered their first defeat of the 2024-25 season with a 57-54 loss to visiting Roger Williams University inside Cousens Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.
The Jumbos (3-1) led by seven at 50-43 to play in regulation after a pair of free throws by junior
Sarah Crossett, but the Hawks responded with six straight points to make it 50-49 with just under four to play. Tufts would continue to lead until 1:31 to play in regulation, when Lilli Clark finished a traditional three-point play to make it 54-52.
On the next possession, Tufts had two chances to tie but neither jumper would go down, and RWU pushed its lead up to three as Clark was 1-of-2 at the free throw line.
Sofia Gonzalez trimmed the Jumbos' deficit down to one at 55-54, and Tufts had a chance to take the lead with under 10 seconds to play by sophomore
Annie Ryan's triple was just off as RWU held on for the win.
Earlier in the game, Tufts had trailed through most of the first half until finishing the opening 20 minutes on a 17-0 run to take a 26-22 lead into the intermission. Tufts' lead would swell up to as much as nine with 7:04 to go in the third quarter after a
Monet Witherspoon rebound put-back.
The Jumbos had a balanced scoring attack on Saturday, as no players were in double figures. Crossett had nine points and eight rebounds, while Witherspoon was 4-of-9 for nine points along with nine rebounds and four steals.
Ryan was 3-of-8 from three-point land, scoring nine points, and Gonzalez contributed seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Mikayla Paquette also netted six points in six minutes off the bench, and
Caitlyn O'Boyle corralled eight rebounds.
Tufts shot just 27.9 percent on the day (19-68), including making just five of 34 attempts from behind the arc.
Sophia Coppola finished with a game-high 18 points for the Hawks, who earned their first win over Tufts in program history.
Tufts is back in action Tuesday, November 26 at 4:30 p.m. against No. 3 University of Scranton in Cousens Gymnasium.
--JUMBOS--
