WORCESTER, Mass.  – No. 2/4 Tufts University's Melissa Baptista (Somerville, Mass.) totaled 17 points to lead the Jumbos past the Lancers in a Monday afternoon Math Madness Game, hosted by Worcester State.

THE BASICS

January 8, 2018

Lancer Gymnasium

Score: Tufts 77, Worcester State 42

Records: Tufts (12-2) | Worcester State (6-7)

1^ST QUARTER

Worcester State scored the first basket of the game 50 seconds in, but Tufts quickly tied the score at 2-2 and then went on a 14-0 stretch to put the score at 16-2. Worcester State broke the Jumbos scoring binge with 4:54 to go in the frame on an Emily Carens (Northborough, Mass.) layup. Tufts pushed back and kept the lead at 14 succeeding a layup from Lauren Dillon (Wellesley, Mass.) with 47 seconds to go in the first quarter.

2^ND QUARTER

The second quarter was the closest of the game, though, Tufts still held a 15-11 edge in scoring. The teams traded points until Worcester State's Sam Maglione (Lancaster, Mass.) made a triple with 7:31 on the clock. Tufts responded with a layup from Jac Knapp (Westfield, N.J.) and a three from Lilly Paro (North Bethesda, Md.) to take a 16-point lead. The Jumbos saw an 18-point lead going into the intermission as they concluded the half with a Katie Martensen (Simsbury, Conn.) layup.

3^RD QUARTER

Worcester State came out of the locker room with some confidence as Kate Surprenant (Pelham, N.H.) and Kaitlin Berkel (Waterford, Conn.) put up buckets to knock the Jumbo's lead down to 14. Following that, Tufts extended its lead to 28 with a 14-0 run to put the game out of reach. The third quarter concluded with a score of 56-29.   

4^TH QUARTER

Tufts kept on scoring in the 4^th quarter as Baptista came out with four consecutive points and Jennie Mucciaroen (North Reading, Mass.) notched a triple, advancing the lead to 34. The teams traded points in the remainder of the frame, and the game settled on a 77-42 score.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Baptista led all scoring with 17 points, going 6-for-15 from the field and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe. She also collected a team-high seven rebounds, game-high four blocks, and a steal and assist in the win.
• Knapp also put up double digits for the Jumbos, scoring 11 points with six rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
• Dillon chipped in nine points for the visitors, going 4-for-5 from the field and also notching five assists and three steals.
• For the Lancers, Britt Herring (West Brookfield, Mass.) led the scoring with 12 points.
• Surprenant chipped in eight points for the hosts, while Catherine Sweeney (Lowell, Mass.) logged six points.
• Sweeney earned a game-high 15 boards with four steals, three assists and one block.
• Tufts outshot the Lancers in all three shooting categories, going 29-for-67 (43.3%) from the field, 5-for-6 (31.3%) from 3-point range, and 14-for-20 (70%) from the free throw line.
• The Jumbos outrebounded the Lancers 46-36.
• Tufts forced 19 Lancer turnovers, while they had 11.
• 33-of-77 points came from the Tufts bench.

UP NEXT

Worcester State heads to Framingham State on Wednesday (Jan. 10) to matchup against MASCAC opponent, Framingham State. Tufts hosts NESCAC opponent, Williams, in a 7 p.n. game on Friday (Jan. 12).

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