A quick turnaround for the Polar Bears followed, and Bowdoin rode that change in momentum to a 62-48 win over the Violets in front of a noisy home crowd.
“Ally Silfen, Abby Kelly were both huge coming off the bench, making great decisions with the ball, and playing great on defense in facing their four-guard offense,” said Shibles, whose Polar Bears will meet Rochester College in the “Sweet Sixteen” this upcoming Friday, likely at Amherst, Mass. “Everyone played so well tonight, a real team effort.”
Kelly knew that she needed to provide a spark.
“Coming off the bench you have to have a spark, and Ally and I really try to work together and get it going before we even go in,” said Kelly. “I haven’t had this much fun all season.”
After Brady scored on Bowdoin’s first possession, the Polar Bears missed their next seven shots. Tied 2-2, NYU’s Kaitlyn Read and Amy Harioka hit back-to-back 3-pointers for an 8-2 Violets lead.
Silfen assisted Brady to end Bowdoin’s three-minute scoreless drought, and Silfen stepped outside for a bucket to get the Polar Bears to 8-6. Kelly took over from there, hitting 1-of-2 at the freethrow line then scoring in the paint to give Bowdoin the lead, 9-8. Moments later, Kelly found Emily Campbell inside to complete Bowdoin’s 9-0 run.
NYU’s Maya Wasowicz finished off the quarter with a basket to get the Violets to 11-10.
Bowdoin came out strong to open the second, with Rachel Norton’s three-point play getting things going for the Polar Bears. Marle Curle found Brady underneath the basket, and set up Lauren Petit for a trey for a 19-10 Bowdoin lead.
Inside, Brady and NYU’s Megan Dawe battled tooth and nail, neither willing to give in inch as the play became physical.
“It was a tough game, but both sides knew it was going to be a tough, physical game,” said Brady. “I got one foul early on, and knew I had to play with a mental focus. She (Dawe) is a good player and we both knew it would be a great battle. It was a lot of fun.”
“I feel our tough schedule prepared us for today,” said Shibles, referring to her team’s New England Small College Athletic Conference slate. “We knew this was going to be a tough battle today. We knew NYU didn’t play their game yesterday, and we were prepared. Shannon did a great job on (Dawe) tonight.”
Big close to half
NYU chipped away in the second quarter, closing to 26- 21 as Harioka drained a 3- pointer off a pass from Riley Wurtz.
Kelly answered on the Bowdoin end to give the Polar Bears a 28-21 lead. Then with time running down, Kelly received a pass and launched a 27-foot shot toward the rim. The ball didn’t tough the rim, swishing through to send the Polar Bears to the break with a 10- point lead.
“We practice that, and I was so ready to hit that shot,” said Kelly.
“I knew she was going to make it,” said Brady.
In the third quarter, the Bowdoin lead swayed between seven and 12 points. Each time NYU made a run, the Polar Bears seemed to have an answer.
“Credit the team for maintaining that lead and answering every time they had a big play,” said Shibles.
“We just couldn’t make enough consecutive stops, and we have been in that position throughout the season to come back, but we just couldn’t hit those big shots tonight,” said NYU (19-7) coach Lauren Hall-Gregory. “Part of what we do is we can attack, finish at the rim or kick it out for threes. Human nature is when you miss a few lay-ups you tend to tighten up a bit. It happens.”
NYU had one more run left, closing to 48-41 on a pair of free throws by Read, who led the Violets with 16 points.
But, Kate Kerrigan, who earlier left the game with a lower body injury, returned and hit a 3-pointer to bring the Bowdoin lead back up to 10.
Now, Shibles, Brady and their Polar Bears return to a second straight “Sweet Sixteen,” hoping to take another step this season.
“We have been there in recent years, and it is always special to have the opportunity to go and hopefully move beyond that. I have so much confidence in this group,” said Shibles.
“It’s amazing and it never gets old,” added Brady. “To come back this year after losing three great leaders, it was a complete team effort. Playing here, in front of these fans, it means everything. This community has been so amazing during my four years. It is unforgettable and we will enjoy this win.”
Curle led Bowdoin with seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Kerrigan added six boards and six assists, while Lydia Caputi of Brunswick pulled down five caroms.
Harioka picked up 11 points for NYU, with Dawe managing nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Wurtz had six assists to pace the Violets.
Bowdoin 75,
Westfield St. 49
Bowdoin surged out of the gates with a 30-9 run to start Friday night’s game against Westfield State and didn’t look back.
Brady dominated the inside for the Polar Bears, scoring a game-high 18 points while hauling in another game-high 12 rebounds. As a team, the hosts pulled in 17 offensive boards and out-rebounded the Owls, 63-44.
Bowdoin, which shot 41.3 percent from the floor, used a balanced scoring attack, with Curle, Caputi, Taylor Choate, Silfen and Kelly all chipping in with six points.
Westfield State was paced by Jill Valley and Forbasaw Nkamebo with a combined 22 points and 10 boards.
Campbell came off the bench to chip in 10 points. Hannah Graham splashed three treys and finished with nine points for the home side.
Kerrigan broke a Bowdoin NCAA record with 10 assists.
NYU 70, Lehman 63
In the first game of the Friday night doubleheader, after trailing 22-8 at the end of the first quarter, NYU gradually chipped away at the deficit, taking the next two quarters 20-15 and 22-17, and grabbed the lead for good midway through the final frame.
Read, who grabbed 13 rebounds, led the Violets with 22 points, while Dawe tallied 21. NYU managed just 37.1 percent from the field, but shot over 45 percent in the decisive second half.
For Lehman, it was Karrin Walker leading the way with 20 points. Amely Del Rosario, who had a game-high 11 helpers, tallied 17 points, while Jennifer Navarro and Amani Lightbourne combined for another 22.
Bowdoin 62,
NYU 48
NCAA Division III Women’s
Basketball Tournament
Second Round
Saturday, at Brunswick
NYU — 10 11 14 13 — 48
Bowdoin — 11 20 14 17 — 62
NYU — Riley Wurtz 1-0-2, Megan
Dawe 2-5-9, Amy Harioka 4-0-11,
Lindsey Oldshue 1-0-2, Kaitlyn Read
6-2-16, Drew Cabral 2-0-4, Cassidy
Fontana 0-0-0, Maya Wasowicz 1-0-
2, Mikaela Pyatt 1-0-2. Totals — 18-
7-48.
Bowdoin — Shannon Brady 9-0-18,
Kate Kerrigan 1-4-7, Lauren Petit 1-0-
3, Marle Curle 1-3-6, Lydia Caputi 1-
0-2, Sydney Hancock 0-0-0, Taylor
Choate 0-0-0, Rachel Norton 1-1-3,
Ally Silfen 4-2-10, Abby Kelly 4-1-11,
Emily Campbell 1-0-2, Hannah Graham 0-0-0. Totals — 23-11-62.
3-point field goals — (NYU) Amy
Harioka 3, Kaitlyn Read 2; (B) Abby
Kelly 2, Kate Kerrigan, Lauren Petit,
Marle Curle.
Records — Bowdoin 22-6, NYU 19-
8.
Up next for the Polar Bears — Friday
vs. Rochester College in the NCAA
Division III “Sweet 16.” Times TBA.
Bowdoin 75,
Westfield State 49
NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament
First Round
Friday, at Bowdoin
Westfield — 7 13 14 15 — 49
Bowdoin — 20 18 18 19 — 75
Westfield — Allison Hester 0-0-0, Jill
Valley 4-2-12, Sudan Bell 0-0-0, Kristen Swain 1-0-2, Forbasaw Nkamebo
3-3-10, Ece Eldek 3-1-8, Keri Paton
0-0-0, Kirsy Segarra 1-0-3, Lauren
Carnevale 1-0-2, Ashley Giampetruzzi
1-0-3, Lucy Barrett 0-3-3, Caitlin
MacGregor 0-1-1, Rebecca Sapouckey 0-1-1, Breanna Winberg 0-0-0,
Kierra McCarthy 1-2-4. Totals — 15-
13-49.
Bowdoin — Shannon Brady 8-2-18,
Kate Kerrigan 1-0-2, Lauren Petit 2-0-
4, Marle Curle 2-1-6, Lydia Caputi 3-
0-6, Sydney Hancock 0-0-0, Taylor
Choate 3-0-6, Rachel Norton 0-0-0,
Hannah Cooke 0-2-2, Ally Silfen 3-0-
6, Abby Kelly 2-1-6, Bridget Snow 0-
0-0, Emily Campbell 4-2-10, Hannah
Graham 3-0-9. Totals — 31-8-75.
3-point field goals — (W) Jill Valley
2, Forbasaw Nkamebo, Ece Eldek,
Kirsy Segarra, Ashley Giampetruzzi;
(B) Hannah Graham 3, Marle Curle,
Abby Kelly.
Records — Bowdoin 21-6, Westfield
State 20-8.
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