Women's Basketball Falls to #3 Tufts, 67-33

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The third-ranked Tufts University women's basketball team posted a 67-33 victory over host Bridgewater State University on Tuesday night at the Tinsley Center.

The visiting Jumbos remain unbeaten on the season as they improve to 8-0.  The Bears slip to 5-3 with their second straight setback as each of the last two losses have come against a top-five ranked team.

Tufts used a dominating second half to pull away for the victory.  The Jumbos, who outscored the Bears 43-15 in the period, shot 57% (16-28) from the floor and limited Bridgewater to just three field goals over the final twenty minutes.

Sophomore forward Michela North (Duxbury, Mass.) paced the visitors with 19 points on 7 of 9 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, two blocked shots and a pair of steals. Senior forward Hayley Kanner (Scarsdale, N.Y.) added 13 points, eight boards, two assists and two blocks.

BSU senior forward Megan Boutilette (Charlton, Mass.) led the Bears with 12 points, three rebounds, a block and three steals in 22 minutes off the bench.  Boutilette now has 962 points in her career.

Trailing 13-2 with 12 minutes remaining in the opening stanza, the Bears used a 9-0 run to climb back into the game.  A Stephanie DeSantis (Walpole, Mass.) three-pointer ignited the run as she and Boutilette combined to score all nine points.

Tufts would ultimately take a 24-18 lead into the intermission with Foley leading the way with seven first-half points.  Boutilette scored ten points on 5 of 7 shooting over the first twenty minutes for the Bears.

The Jumbos started the second half by scoring ten of the first 12 points to open up a double-digit advantage, 34-20.  A 10-0 run later in the period would put the game well out of reach.

After converting just 3 of 14 three-point field goals in the first half, the Jumbos went 4-for-9 from behind the arc in the final stanza.

For the game, Tufts forced 22 BSU turnovers and held a 40-30 rebounding advantage including a 12-7 edge off the offensive glass.  The Jumbos also had a decided edge in points off turnovers (23-8), points in the paint (30-12) and second chance points (15-3).

Bridgewater was never able to get untracked in the second half shooting just 14% (3-21) from the floor.

The Bears are off until Wednesday, December 31st when they travel to Smith College for a two o'clock game with the Pioneers.  The Jumbos are back in action on Sunday, December 28th when they take on The University of Scranton at noon in San Juan, Puerto Rico.