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| Maggie Russell scored 33 points, and Tufts got past Bates on Saturday afternoon. Tufts athletics photo |
UW-Eau Claire won in overtime to stay on top of the WIAC but No. 14 Ohio Northern stumbled into a first place tie in the OAC. Elsewhere, the Stockton kept the NJAC race interesting and Tufts kept pace in the jumbled NESCAC.
Gabby Ritchie hit a 3-pointer with 1:12 left in overtime, but Jessie Ruden did her one better, completing a four-point play 12 seconds later, and No. 24 UW-Eau Claire went on to win at UW-La Crosse, 64-60 in overtime.
Ruden’s shot gave the Blugolds a 62-60 lead and the Eagles had two shots to tie or take the lead before being forced to foul with five seconds left. Bailey Reardon hit both free throws to seal the win. Neither team scored in the final 2:03 of regulation before the fourth quarter ended in a 54-54 tie. Ruden and Courtney Crouch shared game-high honors with 19 points apiece for UW-Eau Claire (16-3, 7-1 WIAC).
No. 18 Ohio Northern lost a road game at Marietta, 68-61, and lost its place alone atop the OAC. Ohio Northern scored the first 12 points of the game but Marietta pulled even with the Polar Bears at the half. The Pioneers opened the second half on a 9-0 run capped by Devin Hefner’s three-pointer. Adi Hill took Marietta’s lead to 48-34 with two minutes to play in the third period and the Pioneers held a double-digit lead for much of the final quarter.
ONU surged back and trailed by just three after Brynn Serbin’s three-pointer with 52 seconds left. Marietta missed a three on its next possession but got the offensive rebound, got fouled and put the game away.
Hefner scored 18 points for Marietta (12-5, 7-3 OAC), including four free throws in the final 20 seconds. Brooke Allen had 16 points for Ohio Northern (15-2, 9-1 OAC), which is now tied for first with Baldwin Wallace.
In a battle of All-Americans, Meghan Graff became Bates all-time scoring leader with 44 points but Maggie Russell scored a career-high 33 points and Tufts outlasted the Bobcats, 84-75, in overtime. Samantha Sousa came up big for the Jumbos down the stretch with a three-pointer to tie the game at 71 and then scored a bucket late to put Tufts in front by three. Russell also led all players with 15 rebounds.
Tufts (12-5, 3-1 NESCAC) remains one game back of No. 17 Trinity (Conn.), which beat Wesleyan 59-43. The Bantams are 4-0 in the NESCAC, but three of their four wins have come against three of the bottom four teams in the conference. Williams topped Middlebury and the Ephs sit between Trinity and Tufts in the standings.
Stockton ended its seven-game losing streak and knocked Ramapo into a three-way tie for first place by grinding out a 43-35 win over the Roadrunners. Ramapo (14-4, 8-3 NJAC) shot 12 for 50 and did not score more than 10 points in any period. Adriana Jennings paced the Ospreys (9-9, 4-7 NJAC) with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Ramapo’s loss cleared the way for Kean (84-52 winners at Rutgers-Newark) and New Jersey City (65-64 winners at TCNJ) to join the Roadrunners atop the NJAC.
Guilford won its ninth in a row and defeated Bridgewater on the road in a battle of two of the top five teams in the ODAC, as the Quakers won 62-58. Bridgewater went on a 12-1 run in the second quarter to go up by eight before Guilford rallied to take a 35-34 lead into the locker room. Guilford (15-3, 8-3) battled in the fourth and tied the score at 50 with 8:46 left. The teams traded baskets until Lindsay Gauldin scored four of Guilford’s points in a little 6-0 burst. The Eagles (12-4, 7-3) pulled within one score on two separate occasions but a layup from Anna Giannopoulou with five seconds on the clock sealed the road win.
Randolph and Washington & Lee, who are tied for first in the ODAC, each cruised against opponents from the bottom half of the conference standings.
The battle of Red Dragons went Cortland’s way as Cortland held Oneonta to two points for the final 7:30 of a 52-45 win. Emily Morano scored 15 points for Cortland (15-3, 10-1 SUNYAC) which is a half-game back of SUNY New Paltz. The Hawks drilled Oswego State 74-47 with none of their starters playing more than 17 minutes.