A preseason D3hoops.com All-America selection, the junior guard is leading the 16th-ranked Jumbos with a career-best 17.7 points per game while shooting 47 percent from the floor, including a sizzling 50 percent on her three-point attempts.

“The All-America honor came as a surprise, but it’s just that - preseason - so you have to go out and prove yourself,’’ said Hart, who has led Tufts (15-2 overall, 3-1 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference) in scoring 10 times this season, and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds in a victory over Allegheny College.

In the off-season, Hart focused on her shooting release, and getting both her 3-point attempts and her floaters in the lane off more quickly. She worked with Sam Doner, her former AAU coach with the Mass. Pumas and the girls’ varsity coach at Newton South High, and then put her new skills into practice in the Honan Women’s League in Brighton, playing alongside her teammates at Tufts.

“That was helpful because I’m being called on more as a scorer this season,’’’ said Hart, already the all-time leader at Tufts in 3-point field goals with 163. She also entered the week four shy of breaking the program’s single-season 3-point record.

“It’s unreal how much she’s improved since her freshman year at Tufts, especially in her knowledge of the game, her leadership and the way she quarterbacks the offense,’’ said Doner, a former point guard at Westfield State and Mount Ida College in Newton.

Hart’s 259 career assists rank sixth all-time at the Medford school, and she was just 33 points from 1,000 for her career going into Tuesday’s home game against Emerson.

Hart isn’t hung up on reaching 1,000 points, but did note that she fell just short of the milestone in her tremendous career at Needham High, where she helped propel the Rockets to the state semifinals as a senior.

“I admired Colleen’s work ethic and passion for the game after seeing her play in high school and felt she could have a tremendous career here,’’ said Tufts head coach Carla Berube, who saw signs of Hart’s emergence as a team leader during her freshman year, when the Jumbos advanced to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Division 3 tournament.

“That experience was immeasurable for her,’’ added Berube, whose roster also includes 5-foot-10 freshman forward Samantha Tye, a former Newton South High captain who has worked her way into the rotation off the bench .

“Colleen stepped up that season and was kind of a silent team leader and now she’s become a more vocal team leader. She is a combination gym rat and exceptional student, and because we’re not a big team we just run and attack and we kick the ball back to her for the 3-point shot. Our success over the last three seasons has a lot to do with Colleen.’’

Hart broke out in the season opener in late November, scoring a career-high 31 points in a 70-68 double overtime loss to host State University of New York at New Paltz, the most points scored by a Tufts player since 2001. Her six 3-pointers (in nine attempts) was last accomplished by a Tufts women’s player 11 years ago.

“That game was a confidence booster in terms of scoring, but the downside was that we lost and I fouled out in the first overtime,’’ said Hart, a conference first-team pick last year who plays primarily as point guard. “We were still trying to establish a team identity and we knew we had to pick up our defensive intensity.’’

Tufts has lost just once since, a 59-57 squeaker (at the buzzer) to conference rival Williams College on Jan. 15. Last weekend, the Jumbos knocked off a pair of Top 25 teams in Colby (No. 25) and Bowdoin (No. 13) at home.

“I think we’ve been up to the challenge for the most part,’’ said Hart. “Three of our starters have had experience the past two years in the NCAAs, and personally my goal is to be a steadying influence. Especially when you’re protecting the basketball in the closing minutes of a tough game, you’ve got to stay on an even keel.

“Coach Berube has had a lot to do with that. She has a lot of experience to share with us, she knows how to bring a team together and how to bring the best out of each individual.’’

Hart has also had the benefit of tutelage from coaches who played as point guard - Doner and Needham High head coach Kim Benson, a former Holy Cross player who was a Needham assistant during Hart’s sophomore and junior seasons.

“It was fun to teach Colleen and she’s the real deal at her position,’’ said Benson, a Wellesley resident. “I opened the Needham High gym for her so she could practice when she came home over Christmas break. Colleen has that instinct for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of her teammates and she could always handle the ball.

“It’s a tribute to her that when people ask me about a certain player, they say ‘Is she as good as Colleen Hart?’ ’’

Marvin Pave can be reached at marvin.pave@rcn.com.