AMHERST, MA – LeFrak Gymnasium played host to the second NESCAC semifinal game of the day this afternoon when No. 2 Tufts University took on No. 3 Wesleyan University. The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead, but ultimately fell to the Jumbos 67-50. 

The Jumbos advanced through the quarterfinal round of play with a 71-60 win over visiting Middlebury, while the Cardinals took a 68-49 victory over Williams College. In the only regular season meeting between Tufts and Wesleyan, the Jumbos registered a 66-52 win.

Early on, Wesleyan pushed an up-tempo style of play to combat a much taller Jumbos starting line-up. The strategy paid early dividends as Wesleyan jumped out a 12-4 led after just 5:37 of action. 

As the game approached the midway point in the first half, play slowed down, allowing Tufts to push the ball inside. The Jumbos closed the gap to 16-11 on a jumper from sophomore Julia Baily (Farmington, CT). After another Cardinal basket, Tufts went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 18-18 with 8:11 to play.

An 11-2 run from the Jumbos, powered by junior Katie Tausanovitch (Lyme, NH), gave Tufts a 31-26 lead with just over three minutes to play left in the first half. Tufts extended the lead to 37-29 on a coast-to-coast play by first-year Colleen Hart (Needham, MA). The bucket turned out to be the final score of the half.

Hart led both teams in scoring at the break with 11 points, while Tausanovitch chipped in with 10 points of her own. Meredith Lowe (Philadelphia, PA) scored 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting for the Cardinals.

Tufts went on a 14-4 run to start the second half, taking a 51-33 lead with just twelve minutes to play. For the next seven minutes of game-time, the Cardinals played step-for-step with the Jumbos, until a triple from senior guard Nikki Maletta (Durham, CT) cut the deficit to 15 points with 4:58 to play.

Wesleyan was unable to cut into the Tufts lead any further, as time ticked away on a 67-50 win. Hart led the Jumbos with 15 points, while Baily had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Ali Fourney (East Northport, NY) paced the Cardinals with 13 points, while Maletta and Lowe each scored 11.

Tufts advances to tomorrow's NESCAC Championship, where they will face the top-seeded Lord Jeffs at noon. Wesleyan's season likely ends with the loss, as the Cardinals fall to 17-9.