NORTHAMPTON, MA – Tufts saw Maggie Russell record a game-best 27 points on 10-of-14 (71.4%) shooting from the floor to lead the Jumbos to a 69-59 victory over Vassar at the Tyler Tip-Off, hosted by Smith College on Sunday afternoon. The Jumbos move to 2-0 on the season, while the Brewers are now 0-2 overall.

Named to the Tyler Tip-Off All-Tournament Team for each team was Vassar senior Sarah Gillooly, along with Russell for the Jumbos.

Tufts opened the game on a 6-0 scoring run, but the Brewers bounced back, pulling the game to 8-5 in the first quarter behind a three-pointer from junior Eliza Srinivasan at the 7:24 mark. A layup from Gillooly helped close the gap further with 3:25 remaining, making it a 12-9 game, but Tufts saw Sofia Rosa lay down back-to-back shots to open it to 16-9.

A three-pointer from Vassar rookie Julia Harvey helped stop the run for a four-point contest with 53 seconds left, but Tufts went into the second quarter with the 18-12 advantage behind a Samantha Sousa jumper.

Tufts used a 6-2 run out of the break to open a 24-14 lead in the second quarter. Senior Dani Douglas buried a three to cut the deficit, but Russell countered with a three of her own to open up a 10-point edge (27-17) at 3:54.

Russell added six straight points for a 33-17 lead before a three-point make from Gillooly, coupled with a shot from the line by the senior helped move it to a 33-21 score. The two teams traded buckets in the final minute as the Jumbos headed into the locker room with the 35-23 lead.

Out of the break, Tufts came out firing with a 10-2 run which included six points from Rosa for a 45-25 advantage at the 7:09 mark. A layup from Harvey broke up the run, while a layup from junior Emily Tincher cut the gap to 45-29 with 6:20 to play.

Following a Molly Ryan layup, Tincher nailed a three-pointer, followed by a Srinivasan jumper to pull the score to 47-34 in favor of the Jumbos with 5:16 to play in the third quarter. With 31 seconds to play, Hansen stepped to the line, draining three straight buckets to close the gap to 12 points and the Brewers headed into the final quarter down 54-42.

Rookie Tash Thompson sank a jumper in the opening six seconds of the fourth for the Brewers and back-to-back layups from Tincher and Gillooly turned it into a 54-48 contest with 8:29 to play. Vassar held the Jumbos scoreless until the 6:08 mark when out of the timeout, Russell nailed a three-pointer from the arc.

A Tufts foul sent Gillooly to the line at 5:53 as the senior drained both shots to make it a 57-50 game, but the Jumbos continued to counter as a Russell layup and an ensuing free throw turned the lead back into 10 (60-50) with 5:36 left in the contest.

The two teams continued to battle, trading shots as the Brewers worked to close the deficit over the final minutes. Capitalizing on a Tufts foul, Gillooly once again went to the line, dropping in both free throw shots to make it 62-54, but Russell connected once again to make it a 10-point edge with 2:39 remaining.

Tufts saw Russell take advantage of a Vassar foul with a pair of free throw makes, but out of a Brewers timeout, Tincher sank a jumper to once again pull it to within 10 (66-56) with 1:12 on the clock. Vassar was unable to hold off the Tufts offense down the stretch as the Jumbos sank several shots at the charity stripe for the final margin.

Russell, who was a perfect 2-for-2 from three-point range and went 5-for-8 (62.5%) from the free throw line, added a game-best 18 rebounds with four assists. Rosa added 22 points for Tufts, including six rebounds, while Callie O'Brien had four assist and three points on the day.

For Vassar, Gillooly paced the way with 15 points, including a 6-for-8 (75.0%) effort at the free throw line, adding five rebounds, two assists and a game-high two steals. Tincher posted 11 points, adding two boards and a game-best one block, while Srinivasan had nine points, seven boards, a game-high five assists and a steal.

Vassar returns to action on Tuesday when it opens its home schedule at 7pm with a non-league tilt against Williams College at the AFC Gymnaisum.