Women's Basketball at No. 1/1 Tufts
Wednesday, January 22 | 7 p.m.
Cousens Gymnasium | Medford, Mass.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 10-17 all-time against Tufts in a series that dates back to the 1982-83 campaign.
• The Jumbos have won 12 of the last 13 meetings between the teams with the Beavers' lone win during this stretch coming in Medford back in 2014.
• In addition to the 2014 victory, Babson lost by just four in its last trip to Tufts in 2018.
LAST MEETING
• Jac Knapp scored 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting and junior Emily Briggs added 16 points and seven rebounds to help then-No. 6/3 Tufts defeat the Beavers, 80-61, on February 6, 2019, in Babson Park.
• The Jumbos, who shot 46. 3 percent, opened the game with a 12-1 run and led 43-29 at the break.
• Senior Jacqueline Jozefick scored a career-high 18 points in a losing effort for Babson.
SCOUTING THE JUMBOS
• No. 1/1 Tufts (16-0) remained unbeaten with a 48-46 OT win then-No. 4/4 Amherst on Saturday afternoon.
• Senior Erin DeCandido, who scored the go-ahead hoop with 1:04 left in the extra session, and sophomore Sofia Rosa both scored 18 points for the Jumbos, who took their first lead of the game midway through the fourth quarter.
• DeCandido (15.6 pts, 8.1 reb) is shooting 52.4 percent from the floor, sophomore Molly Ryan (11.4 pts, 4.6 reb, 3.9 ast, 2.4 stl) leads the team in assists and steals, and Briggs is averaging 10.4 points on 42.6 percent shooting.
• Tufts ranks sixth in Division III in scoring margin (+22.9 points) and 11th in scoring defense allowing just 50.3 points.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (8-6) has won four of its last five games and is coming off a 65-59 victory at MIT on Saturday.
• First-year Megan Bauman scored 14 points and senior Katherine Tamulionis and first-year Samantha Smith both added 12 points for the Beavers, who overcame a 12-point third-quarter deficit.
• Senior Emily Bonifacic (15.0 pts, 9.4 reb) is shooting 52.5 percent from the floor, Bauman (12.4 pts, 3.9 reb, 3.8 ast) has scored in double figures in 10 of her last 11 games, and Tamulionis is averaging 10.3 points and 2.9 assists.
• The Green and White is holding its foes to just 34 percent shooting and owns a +6.5 rebounding margin.
THE TAKEOVER
• Tamulionis and Bauman, who combined to go 7-of-8 at the free throw line, combined to score 17 of Babson's 24 fourth-quarter points in Saturday's win at MIT.
• The backcourt duo helped the Beavers record their first victory of the year when trailing after three periods.
ROOKIES STEPPING UP
• With Bonifacic and Jozefick being held to just four points in Saturday's win, Smith hit double figures for the second time in four games with a season-high 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting, while first-year Caroline Clark came off the bench to knock down a pair of third-quarter three-pointers.
FACING NO. 1
• Wednesday's tilt marks the second time this season that the Green and White will face the nation's top-ranked team. The Beavers suffered a 61-38 at No. 1 Amherst back on November 25.
• Although it has not taken on the No. 1 team in the country twice in a season over the last decade, the Green and White did play Amherst when it was ranked first and second during the 2016-17 campaign.
NUMBER TO KNOW
• Going back to last February, the Beavers have won 11 of their last 12 games when scoring at least 60 points.
