Women's Basketball

Tufts Set to Host Final Rounds of NESCAC Women's Basketball Championship

HADLEY, Mass. – The top-seeded Tufts Jumbos will host the remaining rounds of the NESCAC Women’s Basketball Championship at Cousens Gymnasium for the first time since 2020. Tufts will face No. 4 Middlebury in the first semifinal on Saturday, February 25 at 2 p.m. No. 3 Trinity meets No. 2 Williams in the second semifinal at 4:30 p.m.
2023 NESCAC Women's Basketball Championship Logo> Championship Central

2023 NESCAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Saturday, Feb. 18 at higher seeds
No. 1 Tufts def. No. 8 Bowdoin, 75-61
No. 2 Williams def. No. 7 Bates, 62-55
No. 3 Trinity def. No. 6 Amherst, 58-57
No. 4 Middlebury def. No. 5 Hamilton, 66-52
Semifinal - Saturday, Feb. 25 at Tufts
No. 4 Middlebury at No. 1 Tufts - 2 p.m.
No. 3 Trinity vs. No. 2 Williams - 4:30 p.m.
Final - Sunday, Feb. 26 at Tufts
Semifinal Winners - 12 p.m.

 
Ticket Info
Semifinals: Tickets for the semifinal games are $6 for adults, $3 for students/seniors/children 3 and older, and children under 2 are free. One ticket is good for admission to both semifinal games. Tickets can be purchased online (CLICK HERE) until 7 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 23). A limited number of tickets will be available at Cousens Gymnasium on Saturday (Feb. 25) starting at 1 p.m.

Final: Tickets for Sunday’s championship game are $6 for adults, $3 for students/seniors/children 3 and older, and children under 2 are free. Tickets will only be available onsite at Cousens Gymnasium starting at 10:30 a.m. for the 12 p.m. (noon) game.
No. 4 Middlebury at No. 1 Tufts
Maggie Russell went 11-for-17 from the field and 16-for-16 from the foul line to lead all scorers with a career-high 40 points in Tufts’ 75-61 victory over No. 8 Bowdoin. The Jumbos used an 11-2 run in the second frame and held Bowdoin to three field goals to take a two-point lead at the break. Tufts extended its lead in the third quarter and the Polar Bears could only pull within seven the rest of the way.

Russell is averaging a double-double with team highs of 19.7 points (2nd in the NESCAC) and 10.8 rebounds per game (3rd in the NESCAC). Russell also ranks third in the NESCAC in field goal percentage (46.4%). Sofia Gonzalez ranks second on the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game and has made a league-best 64 3-pointers and leads the NESCAC shooting 40.0 percent from beyond the arc. The Jumbos are playing in the semifinals for the ninth tournament in a row.

Alexa Mustafaj scored a game-high 30 points, scoring 18 points in the final 20 minutes, to go with five rebounds and four steals to lead Middlebury past No. 5 Hamilton, 66-52. Hamilton held an 11-point lead at the half, but the Panthers came back to outscore the Continentals, 45-20, in the third and fourth quarters to earn the win. Middlebury is in the NESCAC Semifinals for the first time since 2019 and the fourth time overall.

Mustafaj leads the Panthers and the NESCAC in scoring at 21.9 points per game and has a team-high 34 3-pointers (41.0 3FG%). The sophomore also paces the Panthers in assists (48) and steals (41) while Augusta Dixon is the team’s leading rebounder with 6.6 caroms per contest.

The Jumbos posted a 68-59 win over Middlebury at Cousens Gymnasium on January 28. Tufts outscored Middlebury 21-16 in the first quarter and 21-11 in the fourth quarter en route to the win. Russell led all scorers with 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Mustafaj and Dixon combined for 31 of the Panthers’ 59 points. The Jumbos are 3-0 against the Panthers in the NESCAC Tournament series. Tufts earned a 68-36 win in the 2016 quarterfinals, the most recent meeting between the teams. 

No. 3 Trinity vs. No. 2 Williams
Reilly Campbell posted her 17th double-double of the year with 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Trinity past No. 6 Amherst, 58-57, in the quarterfinals. Trinity limited Amherst to four points and 2-for-13 shooting in the third quarter to erase a six-point deficit and open up a 47-42 lead. Amherst trimmed the lead to four three times and Kori Barach connected on a 3-pointer at the 1:12 mark to slice the lead to one, 58-57, but neither team would score the rest of the way as the Bantams pulled out the win.

Campbell is averaging a double-double of 16.5 points (3rd in the NESCAC)  and a league-leading 11.2 rebounds per game to pace the Bantams. She also has a team-high 34 blocks and 27 steals while shooting 57.7 percent from the field (1st in the NESCAC). Emma Wax is chipping in 10.5 points per game and is shooting 40.6 from beyond the arc. Trinity is in the semifinals for the second year in a row and the fourth time in program history.

Williams never trailed and Mia Holtze scored 16 points to lead four Ephs in double figures in a 62-55 win over No. 7 Bates. Maddy Mandyck and Holtze scored six points each in the first quarter to push Williams out to a 21-12 lead and never looked back. Mandyck finished the game with 15 points and 12 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season. The Ephs are in the semifinals for the 11th time in program history and the first time since 2020.

Arianna Gerig and Mandyck are the leading scorers for the Ephs. Gerig is averaging 13.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while Mandyck is averaging 12.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game (2nd in the NESCAC). Mandyck also leads the team in assists (78), steals (57 – 2nd in the NESCAC), and a NESCAC-best 81 blocks. Mandyck also ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage at 48.7 percent.

Williams held off the Bantams for a 49-48 win in Williamstown, Mass. on February 3. The Ephs held a six-point advantage with 16 seconds left. Trinity’s Wax drained a 3-pointer to slice the lead to three and Campbell converted a basket at the buzzer for the final one-point margin. The NESCAC Championship series is tied at 1-1. Trinity defeated Williams, 57-46, in the 2022 quarterfinals.