WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HANGS WITH No. 1 JUMBOS

BOSTON, Mass. – The Tufts University women's basketball team used an 11-0 run to open the second quarter to pull away from Emmanuel College in a 69-48 win Tuesday evening in non-conference action on the Andy Yosinoff Court. The Jumbos, who are ranked No. 1 in the most recent D3hoops.com national poll, stay perfect on the year improving to 19-0 while the loss ends the Saints six-game winning streak, dropping them to 12-6 on the season.

Tufts opened the game with a 5-0 run fueled by a three pointer by junior guard Lauren Dillon (Wellesley, Mass.) and the lead would stay at five through a 9-4 score. The Saints defensive pressure held the Jumbos scoreless over the final 5:52 of the stanza, reeling off a 5-0 run to close the frame including a half-court three point buzzer-beater by sophomore guard Madison McLaughlin (Westerly, R.I.) to even the score at 9-9 after one quarter.

The Jumbos didn't let the long-range shot get to them as the visitors rattled off 11 straight points to open the second quarter including seven consecutive points from senior center Michela North (Duxbury, Mass.) to take a 20-9 lead. Tufts maintained the double-digit lead for the remainder of the half until McLaughlin once again beat the buzzer with another half court three point heave to pull the Saints to within eight points at the break at 30-22.

Over the first five minutes of the third quarter, Tufts came out of the gate on fire with a 15-2 run to put the game out of reach and extend the lead to 45-24. The Saints never quit and rattled off a 6-0 run to end the quarter capped by a steal and bucket by junior guard Alisha Fox (National Park, N.J.) to account for a 47-34 score heading into the final frame.

The Saints got as close as 11 points following a pair of Fox free throws with 7:27 remaining in the action to make it 52-41 but the Jumbos firepower was too potent as the number one team in the nation coasted to a 69-48 road victory.

North led all scorers with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting and needs just five points to surpass Colleen Hart ('11) to become the Jumbos all-time leading scorer. North currently has 1,418 career points. Junior forward Melissa Baptista (Somerville, Mass.) posted 13 points along with five blocked shots while sophomore guard Jacqueline Knapp (Westfield, N.J.) was also in double-figures with 11 points.

For the Saints, senior forward Alexis Ezell (Acworth, Ga.) posted 10 points and five rebounds, both good for team-highs. Senior forward Jen Chalk (Horseheads, N.Y.) and McLaughlin both finished the night with nine points.

Emmanuel returns to action on Thursday, January 26 when they head to New Haven, Conn. to face Albertus Magnus College at 7:00 PM in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action. Tufts is back on Saturday, January 28 when they play host to Bates College at 3:00 PM in NESCAC action.