NORTHAMPTON – Jessie Ruffner couldn’t stop smiling.
After the final buzzer sounded Sunday, the sophomore rushed out onto the court with the rest of the No. 1 Smith College basketball team to celebrate their second consecutive NEWMAC title, a decisive 68-46 win over No. 2 Babson College.
She chest-bumped Katelyn Pickunka, unable to contain her excitement, and just a few moments later, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament off a double-double performance where she scored 21 points and grabbed 10 boards.
It was a full circle moment for Ruffner, and for many of her teammates who had their Cinderella 2020 season cut short due to COVID-19. That team was primed for a deep postseason run, making it all the way to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Division 3 tournament. Now this year’s team will finally get a chance to finish what they started.
“I think for our team to have the adversity of COVID and get our season cut short two years ago, and to have six people take the year off (and) come back as a new team, I think it’s just super exciting and says a lot about us,” Ruffner said. “I’ve been smiling. My cheeks hurt. It’s just a lot of fun.”
This year’s Smith College squad has prided themselves on being an underdog team. Playing with a chip on their shoulder gives them an extra edge in whatever game they’re playing, Pickunka said earlier this year. But while the Pioneers may still see themselves as the underdog, it’s clear to everyone watching that this is a team at the top of its game.
Now the Pioneers can turn their attention to the NCAA tournament, their bid secured with the NEWMAC title win. The team’s 2019 run was surprising because of the team’s youth. Now, most of that team is returning, and the added experience they’ll bring into this year’s tourney should only improve their play.
“I definitely think the the maturity piece and having that experience, going that far when you’re an underclassman, is something that’s huge,” Pickunka, of Westhampton, said. “I think that experience and maturity has been a huge part of our growth.”
The Pioneers were bolstered by the unstoppable play of Ruffner, but she was surrounded by secondary scoring from everybody on the bench. Pickunka picked up a double-double of her own with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Dashelle Gleissner was just two assists shy of a double-double, posting 10 points and eight helpers.
By game’s end, nine different Pioneers had found their way onto the scoreboard. The home team could not miss all afternoon long; the Pioneers shot 50 percent from the field, including a blistering 66.7 percent in the second frame to take a 38-22 lead into halftime.
But just like their semifinal game against MIT on Friday, the Pioneers won this game with their defensive effort. The made themselves at home in the post, out-rebounding the Beavers 41-19 and scoring 46 of their 68 total points in the paint. In addition, their suffocating defensive setup held the Beavers to just 49 field goal attempts, including just nine shots in the third quarter.
“In today’s game, in our game on Friday, we’ve really been stepping up our defense, and that crowd energy definitely fuels us. When you’re a little fatigued on defense and you hear everyone cheering you on that definitely helps,” Pickunka said. “I think we’ve been running really well in transition and getting early post seals, which has been crucial for us. Our in and out game has definitely improved recently in our run.”
By the fourth quarter, up 60-29, the Pioneers rested star players like Ruffner and Pickunka on the bench, the title already firmly in hand.
For those who have followed the local high school basketball scene, there was a sense of deja vu on Sunday. Greenfield graduate Samantha Smith started for Babson against Hampshire graduate Katelyn Pickunka; the two of them took the tip off against each other, a mirror of countless games between the Green Wave and Raiders.
Smith was disappointed to not get the NEWMAC title, but was glad of the opportunity to play back in the Pioneer Valley with family and friends in attendance.
“Any time we get to play back at home with girls that are from home, it’s pretty special. It kind of reminds you how we got here,” Smith said.
Pickunka mentioned that the matchup brought back high school memories – but they weren’t always good ones.
“She definitely hit a move on me today that she had also done the exact same move on me when I was a senior in high school,” Pickunka said with a laugh. “It’s actually great to be able to compete with someone competitively in high school and continue that in college and just have that mutual respect for them. She’s grown a lot over the past four years.”
Though they mounted a furious late-game comeback attempt, outscoring No. 5 Bates College 22-11 in the final frame, No. 3 Amherst College fell in the NESCAC women’s basketball championship game, 51-42, on Sunday in Hartford, Conn.
The loss dropped Amherst’s record to 21-3 on the season; of their three losses, two came at the hands of the Bobcats.
Bates held the Mammoths to single-digit scoring in the first three quarters; Amherst posted just six points apiece in both the first and second quarters and managed eight in the third before exploding offensively in the fourth period. Down by 20 heading into the final 10 minutes, Amherst went on an 11-0 run in the first six minutes of the fourth, making it 40-31 late and putting the Bobcats on their heels. Anling Vera hit a triple 1:08 into the final frame to start the run, and then the duo of Dani Valdez and Jade Duval teamed up for the next eight, scoring five and three points, respectively.
Shaken but determined, the Bobcats hit some critical free throws late to put some more distance between themselves and Amherst. Bates’ Ariana Dalia sank three shots from the line and Brianna Gadaleta hit two more to make it 45-31 with 2:10 to go. Amherst pulled back to within five points off of three consecutive triples from Courtney Resch, Lauren Pelosi and Vera. With the score 45-40 and 43 seconds on the clock, the game seemed within reach for the Mammoths.
It wasn’t to be – Lauren Graff hit three free throws over a 13-second span for the Bobcats to make it 48-40. A late jumper from Duval with 22 seconds on the clock wasn’t enough for Amherst, and Graff hit three more shots from the line to seal Bates’ win.