Women's Basketball Loses On "Pink Zone" Night To Tufts

Worcester, MA --- Tufts sophomore Collier Clegg (Evanston, IL) recorded a season-high 26 points to lead Tufts past Worcester State 70-39 in a non-conference women's basketball matchup on Thursday night.  With the win, Tufts moves to 16-5 while Lancers even out at 11-11.

Clegg scored 17 of her points in the opening half while freshmen classmates Ali Rocchi (Fairfield, CT) and Caitlin McClure (Arlington, VA) combined for 15 points. Senior Vanessa Miller (Cincinatti, OH) and junior Tiffany Kornegay (Carver, MA) grabbed five boards each for the Jumbos.

The Lancers were led by senior Alexis George (Worcester, MA/Holy Name) and sophomore Kara Rogers (Lowell, MA) who put in eight points apiece as sophomore Meaghan O'Keefe (Warren, MA) added six defensive rebounds on the night. Rookie Meaghan Burns (West Brookfield, MA) filled the stat sheet with six points, four defensive rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a pair of steals.

Clegg drained a trio of three-pointers in the first five minutes of the opening half to allow Tufts to jump out to an 11-4 lead. The Lancers chipped away to equalize the game into a 15-15 stalemate with 9:10 remaining in the period. Burns capped off the rally for the Lancers with a pair of layups. 

But Clegg's fourth trey of the game with just under a minute later put the Jumbos up by three as they would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the contest. The advantage by Tufts would balloon to as much as nine with 2:33 on the clock (28-19) before the visitors took a 28-22 lead into the locker room.

The Jumbo's opened the second stanza with a 10-2 run capped off by Clegg's fifth shot from downtown for the 38-24 edge four minutes into the period. The Lancers would make it an eight point contest with back-to-back three pointers by Rogers and senior Kathleen Foley (Alvirne, NH), but Tufts would then take control as they went back into double-digits on a trey by McClure.

The visitors would take advantage of 17 of the Lancers 31 miscues in the period as they would build up their largest advantage for what was the final score.

The Jumbo's would finish the contest with 20 steals as they would hold a 29-12 lead in points off of turnovers. Tufts also had a commanding 21-4 margin in offensive boards and a 15-5 edge in second chance points.

As a squad, the Blue and Gold went 10-for-12 on the free throw line and ended the evening with six blocks.

Both teams return to conference play on Saturday when Worcester State entertains Bridgewater State at 3:30 PM and Tufts ventures to Bates for a 4 o'clock matchup.