BRUNSWICK

It was not the game that Bowdoin College coach Adrienne Shibles expected from her women’s basketball team against last-place New England Small College Athletic Conference squad Wesleyan on Friday night.

Despite a poor shooting night and three close quarters, the Polar Bears pulled away in the fourth for a 58-43 victory inside Morrell Gymnasium.

“This was not a pretty game, our shots weren’t falling after a great performance at Husson (a 96-65 win on Tuesday) where everything seemed to fall,” said Shibles after her team shot just 31.7-percent from the floor (19-of-60) along with a 6-for-19 showing from 3- point range. “We were inconsistent with a lot of the little things that we are typically consistent with. But I am proud of them for the way we grinded it out.”

“Wesleyan really brought their game tonight,” said Bowdoin senior guard Marle Curle, who led the Polar Bears with 11 points. “Some nights your shots fall and some nights they don’t. We were lucky to get this win.”

Despite entering the contest with a 1-7 league mark, the Cardinals (7-14, 1-8) carried the play early, jumping out to a 6-2 lead. It took a pair of free throws from Maddie Hasson and a 3- pointer by Curle to give Bowdoin its first lead, 10-6. The Polar Bears held a 12-9 advantage after a quarter.

But, Wesleyan refused to go away, tying the contest on a trey by Danielle Gervacio to open the second quarter.

Bowdoin answered with an 11-4 spurt, with Lauren Petit coming off the Bowdoin bench to score five second quarter points for a 23- 16 lead.

Wesleyan fought back, with the Cardinals closing to 25-22 by halftime. Wesleyan continued to hang with the Polar Bears in the third quarter, with the teams splitting 32 points as Bowdoin carried a 41-38 edge to the fourth.

The Polar Bears finally found their flow, getting four quick points from Curle for a 45-38 lead. Moments later, Sydney Hancock stepped back and swished a 3-pointer to make for a 10-point advantage, 48-38, with 6:41 remaining.

Bowdoin’s defensive pressure forced four fourth-quarter turnovers and held the Cardinals to just one field goal in the final frame, a trey from Maeve Vitale to get Wesleyan to 48-41.

“We increased our defensive intensity and that led to some easy baskets in the fourth quarter,” said Curle.

“Our seniors showed great leadership down the stretch,” said Shibles of Hancock, Kerrigan and Curle. “We wore them down. They didn’t have as many legs in their shots and missed some bunnies later that they made earlier in the game.”

The Polar Bears rolled from there, closing the contest on a 10-2 run as Abigail Kelly hit a 3-pointer. Once again, Bowdoin’s bench came through, scoring 35 points in all, led by Petit with 10, Kelly with eight, and Ally Silfen and Hasson with seven apiece.

“We can really put fresh legs into the game. We are a pressing team, so it helps to have that. The bench is a definite strength of ours,” said Curle.

Shibles has stuck to using her bench throughout the season, fighting the urge to keep the five hottest players on the court.

“That is the tendency to do that as a coach, and we had moments where some struggled tonight, but they stepped up in those big moments in the fourth quarter,” said Shibles. “Marle and Kate have given up some minutes this year that they were used to, but I think in the long run our bench is how we have gotten to this point.”

Maddie Bledsoe paced Wesleyan with 10 points, followed by nine from Tara Berger, and eight each from Gervacio and Vitale. But, the Cardinals also struggled from the floor, shooting just 28.3-percent (15-of-53). Berger had 14 rebounds as Wesleyan held a slight 42-40 edge on the boards.

Bowdoin forced 25 turnovers, with Kerrigan picking up three steals, four assists, eight rebounds and four points. Kelly added three steals, while Silfen led Bowdoin with 10 rebounds.

Saturday

Bowdoin made it a weekend sweep with a 68-49 victory over Connecticut College on Saturday.

The 20th-ranked Polar Bears improved to 20-3 overall, 8-2 in the NESCAC, while the Camels fell to 16-8 (4-6 NESCAC).

Connecticut College jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but Bowdoin went on a 16-0 run to take control. Kerrigan sparked the run with seven points and Hancock capped the surge with a 3-pointer to push Bowdoin’s lead to double figures.

Leading 16-10, Bowdoin put together a 14-1 run that included 3-pointers from Petit, Curle and Kelly. Bowdoin led 31-18 at the half.

A dozen players entered the scoring column for the Polar Bears, who were led by 10 points from Kelly and nine points apiece from Kerrigan and Petit. Kerrigan also had eight assists, six rebounds and two blocks, while Hancock added five assists and a pair of 3-pointers.

Meg Corcoran led the Camels with a dozen points and 11 rebounds.

Bowdoin will learn its quarterfinal opponent for a home contest this upcoming Saturday. The start time will be announced.

Bowdoin 58,
Wesleyan 43

Friday at Morrell Gymnasium in
Brunswick
Wesleyan — 9 13 16 5 — 43
Bowdoin — 12 13 16 17 — 58
Wesleyan — Danielle Gervacio 2-2-
8, Tara Berger 3-3-9, Maeve Vitale 3-
0-8, Lauren Gaj 0-0-0, Maddie Bledsoe 3-4-10, Olivia Gorman 1-0-2,
Kadijah Mathews 2-0-4, Chynna Bailey 0-0-0, Ava Tompkins 0-0-0, Heidi
Scarth 1-0-2. Totals – 15-9-43.
Bowdoin — Taylor Choate 0-4-4,
Kate Kerrigan 2-0-4, Marle Curle 4-2-
11, Lydia Caputi 1-0-2, Emily Campbell 1-0-2, Sydney Hancock 1-0-3,
Sam Roy 0-0-0, Lauren Petit 3-2-10,
Maddie Hasson 2-3-7, Ally Silfen 2-3-
7, Abigail Kelly 3-0-8, Olivia Ware 0-
0-0, Hannah Graham 0-0-0, Cordelia
Stewart 0-0-0. Totals – 19-14-58.
3-point field goals — (W) Gervacio
2, Vitale 2; (B) Petit 2, Kelly 2, Curle,
Hancock.
Records — Bowdoin 19-3, 7-2
NESCAC; Wesleyan 7-14, 1-8
NESCAC.
Up next for the Polar Bears — This
upcoming Saturday, NESCAC Quarterfinal (TBA).