NCAA Women

No. 5 Basketball Holds Off Tufts, 70-60

Mount Holyoke College

NORTHAMPTON – The fifth-ranked Smith College basketball team held off a late rally by the Jumbos to earn a 70-60 win over Tufts University Monday evening in Ainsworth Gymnasium. 

With the win, head coach Lynn Hersey‘s squad has won 11 straight to improve to 17-1 on the year. Tufts falls to 12-6 with the loss. 

Game Highlights

  • Back-to-back three-pointers by Amelia Clarimont put Smith up 11-5 with 5:50 left in the first. Morgan Morrison’s (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Country Day) layup gave Smith a 14-8 lead but a three-pointer from Annika Decker trimmed the lead to 14-11 at the end of the first
  • The Pioneers used a 10-0 run to open the second stanza as Ally Yamada (Seal Beach, Calif./Fairmont Prep Academy) connected on three 3-pointers in the quarter to give Smith a 34-23 edge at halftime
  • Jessie Ruffner (Rocklin, Calif./Rocklin) connected on a pair of free throws to open the third quarter and the Smith defense held Tufts scoreless until Sophia Davis’ bucket with 5:29 on the clock sparked a 5-0 run to come within eight (36-28). Smith responded with an 18-4 run to close out the quarter ahead 46-32
  • The Jumbos stayed within striking distance as it narrowed the gap to six after a three-pointer by Annika Decker with 3:35 remaining. Smith quickly widened the margin courtesy of a 6-0 run to make it 62-50 and would connect on 8-of-10 free throws in the final minutes for the 70-60 final

By the Numbers

  • Morgan Morrison (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Country Day) recorded her eighth double-double of the year, finishing with 21 points, 12 rebounds and…

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