No. 12/14 Women's Basketball at No. 21/23 Tufts
Sunday, January 8 | 1 p.m.
Cousens Gymnasium | Medford, Mass.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 10-19 all-time against Tufts in a series that dates back to 1982-83.
• The Jumbos have won eight of the last 10 meetings between the teams with the Beavers' last victory during this stretch coming in Medford back in 2014.
LAST MEETING
• Sofia Rosa led five players in double figures with 17 points and Molly Ryan added 15 points and five assists to help Tufts defeat the Beavers, 82-67, on January 9, 2022, in Babson Park.
• Junior Maggie Russell finished with 13 points as the Jumbos outscored the Green and White 46-25 to erase a six-point halftime deficit.
• Senior Megan Bauman had 19 points and six assists, while junior Kelly Walsh and sophomore Camilla Silk scored 14 and 10 points, respectively, to pace Babson, which shot 51.7 percent in the first half.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• No. 12/14 Babson (10-1) has won three straight games and is coming off a 76-51 victory over Endicott in the Judy Pearson '85 Memorial Tournament back on December 31.
• Walsh finished with 15 points, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks, while sophomore Katelyn Mollica scored 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting for the Beavers, who built a 20-point lead early in the third quarter.
• Bauman (13.4 pts, 4.8 ast) ranks 27th in Division III in assists, senior Samantha Smith (12.0 pts, 9.1 reb, 2.0 blocks) has four double-doubles and is shooting 49.6 percent on the year, and Walsh is averaging 11.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and a team-high 1.7 steals.
• The Green and White is holding its opponents to just 33.8 percent shooting and 57 points per game.
SCOUTING THE JUMBOS
• No. 21/23 Tufts (10-3) has won two straight games and is coming off a 55-38 victory over Connecticut College in its NESCAC opener on Friday night.
• Sophomore Sofia Gonzalez knocked down three three-pointers and finished with 11 points and Russell added eight points and 12 rebounds for the Jumbos, who raced out to a 29-12 halftime lead.
• Russell (19.9 pts, 10.1 reb) has four double-doubles and entered the weekend ranked 12th in Division III in scoring, first-year Sarah Crossett (10.8 pts, 6.2 reb) is shooting 48.7 percent and Gonzalez (10.6 pts, 5.4 reb) has knocked down 33 triples and is shooting 42.9 percent from deep.
• Tufts is averaging 68.6 points and grabbing 12.6 offensive rebounds per game.
BENCH PRODUCTION
• The Beavers got a season-high 32 points off the bench in their December 31 win over Endicott, highlighted by nine from sophomore Abby Miller.
• Silk finished with six points and five rebounds, sophomore Kiara Simone Davis added five points and classmate Meghan Goode tied for game-high honors with three assists.
NON-CONFERENCE CHALLENGES CONTINUE
• Entering the weekend, Babson's opponents' winning percentage of .713 ranks third in Division III behind only Ithaca (.727) and Tufts (.721) per NCAA stats.
• The Beavers own wins over NESCAC foes Williams and Middlebury as well as the current leaders of the Little East (Rhode Island College), Commonwealth Coast (Roger Williams) and MASCAC (Bridgewater State).
• Four of Babson's next eight games come against nationally-ranked opponents, which includes a pair of meetings with No. 15/18 Springfield and a home date with No. 22 Trinity.
BEAVERS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
• In addition to ranking 27th in assists per game, Bauman is currently fourth nationally in free throw percentage shooting 93.3 percent at the charity stripe.
• Walsh ranks 33rd in free throw percentage (86.5) and Smith's two blocked shots per game is good for 46th in the country.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Babson is 7-0 this season and 70-1 since 2018-19 when carrying a lead into the fourth quarter.
• The Beavers are 8-0 on the year when holding their opponents below 40 percent shooting.
• The Green and White is 9-0 this season when scoring at least 60 points.
• Babson is 13-1 over the last two seasons when making at least six three points although the lone loss came last season against Tufts.
UP NEXT
• The Beavers begin a five-game homestand against No. 15/18 Springfield on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
