Collier Clegg gives her best for the Tufts University Jumbos, who were edged out of finals competition by St. Thomas. – Photo courtesy of Tufts

The Tufts University women’s basketball dropped its third round game of the NCAA Tournament, 50-47, to #12 St. Thomas (Minn.) on Friday evening on the campus of the University of Chicago.

St. Thomas started the game on an 8-0 run as Tufts did not register its first points until the 11:53 mark after a three-pointer by first-year guard Kelsey Morehead (Foster City, CA). That began a 9-0 run for Tufts which resulted in its first lead of the game, 9-8, after a layup by junior Bre Dufault (Hampden, MA).

The Tommies eventually reclaimed a three-point advantage, 12-9, before sophomore Liz Moynihan (Storrs, CT) connected on four consecutive free throws for the Jumbos. The lead would bounce back to St. Thomas before Tufts had its final advantage of the night, 15-14.

St. Thomas built a five-point lead, 22-17, using six made free throws, four of which came from senior Ali Johnson (St. Louis Park, MN). Before the halftime buzzer, Moynihan was able to drain a long three to pull her team to within two, 22-20, at the break.

The Tommies took control in the second half, working to its largest advantage of the night, 40-26, with 9:14 to play. Sophomore Taylor Young (Edina, MN) spearheaded the run for St. Thomas with eight points. After a media timeout at 7:54, Tufts clawed its way back into the game with a 13-2 run to get within three, 44-41, with 4:41 remaining. Morehead tailed the last six points of the run on back-to-back three-pointers.

After St. Thomas went back up five, 46-41, the Jumbos held serve at the charity stripe as both junior Collier Clegg (Evanston, IL) and senior Kate Barnosky (Huntington Station, NY) buried a pair of free throws. Then, St. Thomas senior Sarah Smith (Grand Forks, ND) grabbed a key offensive rebound and scored with two seconds on the shot clock to put her team back up by three, but Barnosky quickly answered with a jump shot.

Down 48-47 with 27 seconds to play, the Jumbos had to foul and send St. Thomas to the free throw line. The strategy worked as the Tommies missed both shots, but the Jumbos would turn the ball over on the ensuing possession. Junior Kellie Ring (Somerset, WI) made both her shots, and Tufts’ desperation three to tie was no good.

Barnosky led the Jumbos with 11 points on 4 of 9 shooting while senior Tiffany Kornegay (Carver, MA) grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Morehead finished with nine points, shooting 3 for 6 from three-point range. Moynihan and Clegg added nine and eight points respectively off the bench.

Smith had a double-double for the Tommies with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Young had 15 as well.

The Jumbos end their season at 23-7 while the Tommies at 29-1 advance to the National Quarterfinals.