The regular season and conference tournaments have come to an end in women’s college basketball, and Bowdoin College is set to host the opening two rounds of an NCAA Division III Tournament regional.
Tonight inside Morrell Gymnasium, Skidmore College faces FDU-Florham at 5 p.m., followed by Bowdoin entertaining Husson at 7 p.m. The winners meet on Saturday at 7 p.m., with a berth in the “Sweet 16” on the line.
Here is a look at the four teams:
Bowdoin Polar Bears
The Polar Bears averaged 81.2 points per game while allowing just 47.3. Bowdoin’s only losses came to the nationally ranked top team and unbeaten
Amherst Mammoths and against Tufts, ranked eighth, in last weekend’s semifinals, 60-48.
Bowdoin received balanced scoring as Shibles uses her bench constantly throughout a game. Junior Abby Kelly averages a team-high 12.2 points per game, along with 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists. Senior leader Kate Kerrigan, who was recently named the NESCAC Player of the Year along with the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, puts up 10.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.5 steals.
Bowdoin owns the eighth-best strength of schedule in Division III. Shibles has led Bowdoin to nine NCAA Tournament bids and owns a 218-62 (.778) record with the Polar Bears, including 20 wins in nine of her 10 campaigns.
Husson University won its third consecutive North Atlantic Conference title with a 76-58 victory over Maine Maritime Academy in the championship contest.
The Eagles are a young team, with junior Kenzie Worcester leading the team with 18.8 points per contest, along with 5.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals. She recently surpassed 1,000 career points, including 500 points already this season.
Sophomore Sami Ireland (10.1 points, 6.4 rebounds) and freshman Megan Peach (6.0 points, 5.3 rebounds) are other Husson players to watch.
Head coach Kissy Walker has 488 career victories and has led the Eagles to 26 winning campaigns and six NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Eagles started slow, dropping four of their first six games and standing at 7- 7 through 14. However, Husson won 12 of its final 14 games.
Skidmore Thoroughbreds
Skidmore, out of Sarasota Springs, New York, enters the tournament hot, winners of six straight and 12 of its last 13 contests, including a 65-42 rout of RIT in the Liberty League championship game.
The Thoroughbreds went 18-9 during the regular season and are led by a trio of seniors. Kelly Donnelly averages a team-high 19.4 points a contest along with 9.1 rebounds and has surpassed several Skidmore records. She ranks fifth nationally in field goals made and is 33rd in points-per-game in Division III.
Veronica Moceri (11.8 points, 2.9 assists) and Ari Fustini (6.6 points, 3.3 assists) have also had solid seasons for the Thoroughbreds.
Skidmore averages 60.7 points a game while allowing 55.7.
This is Skidmore’s second appearance in the NCAA Tournament, with the Thoroughbreds falling to St. John Fisher, 62-60, in the 2015 tournament.
FDU-Florham Devils
Fairleigh Dickinson University is out of Madison, New Jersey, and may be the youngest team in the NCAA Division III Tournament, with just two seniors on the roster along with a large sophomore class that led the Devils to a 21- 6 record and the champions of the Middle Atlantic Conference for the sixth consecutive season.
The Devils started slowly and sat at 4- 4 through eight games. However, FDU- Florham enters today’s matchup with Skidmore riding a nine-game winning streak.
Sophomores Kendrea Williams ( 21.7 points), Gabrielle Harris ( 20.1 points, 5.6 rebounds) and Taiah Thornton ( 13.0 points, 2.5 assists) became the first MAC trio to garner First Team honors. Williams connected on 99 treys this season.
Juniors Bria Smith (12.3 points, 9.9 rebounds) and Raven Dowling (5.0 assists, 5.2 steals) give the Devils a solid starting five that averaged 77.3 points a game while allowing 64.6.
Tickets
Tickets for each day will be $7 for adults and $4 for students/children/seniors.
Bowdoin students will be free with identification.
Tickets will be sold at the door one hour prior to the games (4 p.m. today, 6 p.m. on Saturday).
All games from the regional will be carried live on the Northeast Sports Network.
BOWDOIN COLLEGE athletics contributed to this story.
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