Tufts 81, WPI 60
Box
Score
Worcester, MA --- Tournament MVP Colleen Hart
(Needham, MA) notched game-bests of 20 points and eight assists to
spark Tufts to a 81-60 win over host WPI in the championship game
of the WPI Holiday Invitational presented by Hilton Garden Inn.
With Wednesday's result, the nationally ranked Jumbos improve
to 7-1 while the Engineers slip to 6-4.
Tufts shot a sizzling 51.6% from the floor, including draining
6-of-12 attempts from behind the 3-point arc. Hart highlighted four
Jumbos in double figures as Julia Baily
(Farmington, CT) and Katie Tausanovitch (Lyme, NH)
each tallied 16 points while Rachel Figaro
(Windham, NH) registered 12.
The Jumbos took a 32-24 advantage into the locker room at halftime
after Lindsay Weiner (Rockville, MD) canned a
3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first stanza. Hart poured
in 13 of her 20 points after the break while Tausanovitch connected
on 6-of-7 attempts from the field after the intermission en route
to 14 second half points.
Tufts, ranked 16th in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25, forced 18
turnovers on the day and held a decisive 25-6 advantage in points
off miscues. The visitors also distributed the basketball well,
collecting 19 assists on 33 made field goals.
Serena Dubois (Bangor, ME) led WPI by equaling her
career-best with 18 points. It marks the third time (12/30/07 vs
Wesley and 12/13/08 at Thomas) that the junior has reached the
18-point mark. Elle Fontaine (Franklin, MA) led
the Engineers on the glass by corralling a career-high 13 rebounds.
Point guard Natasha Deschene (Presque Isle, ME)
chipped in with nine points while Fontaine contributed seven.
In addition to Hart, the all-tournament team included Bailey from
Tufts, the WPI duo of Dubois and Fontaine, Brianna
Peterson (Garnerville, NY) of Catholic and Talaya
Woodall (Bensalem, PA) of Maine Machias. Earlier in the
day, Catholic defeated the Clippers 91-39 in the consolation game.
Dubois earned all-tournament accolades for the second straight year
and, including her earlier selection to the Worcester City
all-tournament team, has picked up all-tournament honors in her
last four appearances.
After a day off on Friday, WPI returns to action at the ECAC
Holiday Tournament in Orlando, FL. The Engineers will play the
first of their two games in the tournament when they face Sage on
Saturday at 7pm. Tufts is back on the hardwood on Wednesday,
January 7th when they play at Emmanuel at 7pm.
