BOWDOIN COLLEGE GUARD Taylor Choate (4) drives past Connecticut College’s Julia Wanfried during a NESCAC women’s basketball quarterfinal at Brunswick on Saturday. Choate had 10 points as the Polar Bears captured a 72-47 win.
Facing a team for the second time in one week is often daunting. Facing that same squad knowing its very lives hinge on winning a game or two to advance its season is even more challenging.
The Bowdoin College women’s basketball team faced down those challenges once again, dismissing sixth-seeded Connecticut College, 72-47, in a New England Small College Athletic Conference quarterfinal inside Morrell Gymnasium on Saturday.
The third-seeded Polar Bears, 21-3, face No. 2 Tufts in the NESCAC semifinals this upcoming Saturday at Amherst, the No. 1 seed. Amherst meets No. 5 Colby in the other semifinal, with the winners facing off on Sunday for the NESCAC title and automatic spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
In a back-and-forth first half, the Camels (16-9) held a five-point lead on two occasions, the final time at 27-22, looking to do better than they did the week before, when Conn. College fell to the Polar Bears, 68-49.
Trailing 29-26, Bowdoin closed the half on a 7-0 run, with a key three-point play by Abigail Kelly putting the Polar Bears ahead to stay. Kate Kerrigan made a pair of free throws for a 33-29 halftime edge.
Conn. College drew to 33- 32 on a 3-pointer by Julia Wanfried to open the second half, but Bowdoin scored the next 10 points to take control. The Camels received a second trey in the quarter from Liz Malman. Again the Polar Bears answered with a big run, with a 12-0 spurt making for a 55-35 Bowdoin advantage early in the fourth.
The first-half closing run to the lead was key for Bowdoin.
“It gave us the momentum going into the second half, and the defense took it up a notch,” Bowdoin coach Adrienne Shibles said. “I think we just wore them down. We pushed and pressed, knowing many of their players played a lot in the first half. Connecticut College shot the ball well in the first half. This is a great win for us.”
Freshman Sam Roy provided a spark for Bowdoin. She closed the third by beating the buzzer with a layup, and scored five quick points to open the fourth as the Polar Bears extended out to a 60-37 lead.
“She was a sparkplug and just brings a lot of intelligence for a freshman. She is going to have a great career,” said Shibles of Roy, who had seven points in seven minutes of work.
Another key player for Bowdoin was sophomore Taylor Choate. She scored 10 points, including two big 3- pointers, and added five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“She makes big plays for us, great quickness on the defensive end. She had a great game tonight,” Shibles said of Choate.
“This was a great team effort tonight,” added Choate. “We are good at driving and sending the ball out. We started switching more with their bigs. We worked together and had great communication.
“We have talked about being a third-quarter team, and we have really developed that the second half of the season.”
Marle Curle paced Bowdoin with 13 points and three assists. Fellow senior Kerrigan chipped in eight points, five boards, five assists and three steals, while Ally Silfen and Kelly came off the bench to split 14 points down the middle. Emily Campbell pitched in six points and six caroms. The Bowdoin bench outscored Conn. College’s reserves, 30-8.
Meg Corcoran had 11 points and a game-leading eight rebounds for the Camels, while Malman chipped in 10 points, three steals and two assists.
Bowdoin was 28-of-67 from the floor (41.8 percent) and a solid 11-of-14 from the freethrow line. The Polar Bears forced 27 turnovers.
No. 3 Bowdoin 72,
No. 6 Conn. College 47
NESCAC Quarterfinal
Saturday, at Brunswick
Conn. College — 18 11 6 12 — 47
Bowdoin — 15 18 21 18 — 72
Conn. College — Julia Wanfried 2-0-
5, Meg Corcoran 3-4-11, Caroline
Pangallo 2-0-6, Kylie Caouette 3-0-7,
Liz Malman 4-0-10, Nancy Coulverson 0-0-0, Ashley Howe 0-0-0, Dana
Muckstadt 2-2-6, Payton Ouimette 0-
2-2, Haley Vanty 0-0-0, Erin Feeney
0-0-0. Totals — 16-8-47.
Bowdoin — Taylor Choate 3-2-10,
Lydia Caputi 2-0-5, Kate Kerrigan 2-
4-8, Emily Campbell 3-0-6, Marle
Curle 5-2-13, Ally Silfen 3-1-7, Sydney Hancock 0-0-0, Abigail Kelly 3-1-
7, Rachel Norton 0-0-0, Hannah Graham 1-0-2, Cordelia Stewart 1-0-2,
Maddie Hassan 2-1-5, Sam Roy 3-0-
7, Olivia Ware 0-0-0, Hannah Cooke
0-0-0. Totals — 28-11-72.
3-point field goals — (CC) Pangallo
2, Malman 2, Wanfried, Corcoran,
Caouette; (B) Choate 2, Caputi, Curle,
Roy.
Records — Bowdoin 21-3; Conn.
College 16-9.
Up next for the Polar Bears —
NESCAC semifinal against No. 2 Tufts,
Saturday at Amherst College, 4 p.m.
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