MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Sela Kay tied the school record for 3-pointers in a game as the Bowdoin College women’s basketball team closed out its regular season with an authoritative 83-50 NESCAC victory over Wesleyan on Sunday afternoon.
The fifth-ranked Polar Bears finished the regular season with a record of 22-2 (8-2 NESCAC) and clinched the third seed for the upcoming NESCAC Tournament. Bowdoin will host sixth-seeded Hamilton in the quarterfinals at Morrell Gymnasium on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Polar Bears put the game out of reach early and coasted in the second half en route to the win. Bowdoin sprinted to an 8-1 lead in the opening moments before a Wesleyan charge closed the gap to 13-12 with 3:20 left in the first quarter. The Polar Bears replied with a 10-0 run to close the period and push the lead to double digits, 23-12.
Bowdoin then scored the first six points of the second quarter to double-up the Cardinals. The Polar Bears led 49-27 at halftime and extended their advantage to as many as 40 points in the second half.
Kay was outstanding, scoring a career-high 25 points including seven treys, tying the single-game school mark held by Sara Binkhorst, Lauren Petit and Taylor Choate. Three other Polar Bears saw double-digits, including Samantha Roy, who had 17 points, seven assists and four steals. Maddie Hasson had 14 points, eight rebounds and four steals, while Moira Train added 10 points for the Polar Bears.
Bowdoin shot 47% for the contest and held Wesleyan to 32% shooting.
Men’s hoops
Bowdoin saw its postseason hopes dashed in a season-ending 65-59 NESCAC loss to Wesleyan on Sunday afternoon inside Morrell Gymnasium in Brunswick.
The Polar Bears finished their season with a record of 8-16 (3-7 NESCAC), while the Cardinals, who are also out of playoff contention, finished their year with a record of 14-10 (3-7 NESCAC).
Both teams struggled offensively in the opening half as the Polar Bears clung to a 29-25 edge despite shooting just 32% from the field.
Bowdoin seem poised to take command of the contest in the opening moments of the second half, scoring the first seven points of the period to take a 36-25 lead on a Sam Grad driving layup with 17:57 to go.
After the Cardinals called timeout, they trimmed the lead back into single digits, but Bowdoin maintained an eight point edge, 42-34, with 13 minutes remaining. A dunk by Wesleyan’s Jordan James sparked a 12-0 run by the visitors, as they edged ahead on a pair of Preston Maccoux free throws, 44-42, with 10:23 to go.
A 3-pointer by David Reynolds briefly regained the lead for Bowdoin, but James answered with an off-balance lay-in for Wesleyan and the Cardinals never trailed again.
Bowdoin stayed within striking distance and came as close as two points, 53-51, following two Xander Werkman free throws with four minutes to play. The Cardinals sealed the win from the line, connecting on six free throws in the final moments to hold off the Polar Bears.
Wesleyan held Bowdoin to 32% shooting from the field in the victory and forced 13 Bowdoin miscues which the Cardinals cashed in to 17 key points off turnovers.
Men’s hockey
Bowdoin earned a 3-1 Senior Day win over visiting Wesleyan on Saturday evening.
The Polar Bears climbed to 10-11-1 (6-9-1 NESCAC), while the Cardinals leftMaine at 11-10-1 (7-8-1 NESCAC).
Bowdoin scored first with a shorthanded tally 5:24 into action. Kyle Jadatz won a faceoff in the neutral zone and kicked the puck back to Joe Alexander, who saucered a pass up ice, off the boards, to Pat Geary who broke towards net, diving, and managed to roof a shot as he went down.
Geary scored his second of the afternoon two minutes later. With Michael Brown and Chris Brown joining him on the right post, the flurry of shots ended with Geary jamming the puck through Tim Sestak’s pads and into the net.
The Cardinals pressured Bowdoin in the third, peppering Alex Zafonte through multiple stretches. Wesleyan’s most promising bid came midway through the frame as Walker Harris rang a shot off the right pipe from the slot.
Wesleyan spoiled the clean sheet with 1:13 remaining in the game. With six skaters on the ice and a Bowdoin skater in the box, Tyler Levine took a feed in front of the net from Tyler Wyatt beyond the goal line.
Graham Rutledge capped the game with an empty-netter from the Bowdoin blue line with eight seconds to play.
Sestak made 33 stops for the Cardinals. Zafonte made 22 saves for Bowdoin.
On Friday at Watson Arena, nationally-ranked Trinity rolled to an 8-1 win over the Polar Bears.
Albert Washco scored the lone Bowdoin goal off an assist from Ronnie Lestan.
The Polar Bears visit Connecticut College on Friday.
Women’s hockey
Bowdoin suffered a series sweep at Trinity, falling 7-2 on Friday and 6-1 on Saturday.
The Polar Bears return to Maine with an 8-11-3 (4-9-1 NESCAC) record. The Bantams picked up their first conference wins of the season to climb to 7-11-4 (2-10-2 NESCAC).
In Friday’s opener, Julia Surgenor and Angelina Joyce scored for the Polar Bears, while on Saturday the lone Bowdoin goal came off the stick of Ali Dougal.
Dani Marquez manned the net in both contests, combining for 71 saves.
Bowdoin hosts Middlebury on Friday and Saturday at Watson Arena.
Men’s squash
Bowdoin rallied for a pair of wins over Colby and Tufts to secure a fifth-place finish at the 2020 NESCAC Championship in Brunswick.
The Polar Bears (10-8) rebounded from a quarterfinal loss to Williams (8-1) to defeat Colby (5-4) on Saturday evening. Bowdoin then knocked off Tufts (5-4) on Sunday to earn the program’s best finish at NESCAC’s since 2010.
Bowdoin was eliminated from the championship portion of the tournament with an 8-1 setback to Williams on Saturday morning. Drew Clark accounted for the Polar Bears’ lone win, taking a 3-1 victory at No. 8.
In the consolation round on Saturday evening against the Mules, Bowdoin got sweeps from John Milligan, Tyler Shonrock and Adham Sobhy at the No. 2-4 spots. In the No. 1 position Deven Kanwal earned a hard-fought 3-2 (10-12,10-12,11-8,11-7,11-7) victory to put Bowdoin on the brink of clinching. Henry Somerby finished off his opponent at No. 7, 3-2 (11-6,11-9,8-11,14-16,12-10) to clinch it for the Polar Bears.
In the fifth-place match Sunday morning against Tufts, Clark (3-0), Carson Claar (3-0) and Milligan (3-0) gave Bowdoin an early boost. Sobhy took a 3-1 win at No. 4 for the Polar Bears and, with the match tied at 4-4, Kanwal came through again for Bowdoin, earning a comeback 3-1 victory (8-11,11-7,11-4,12-10).
It is the program’s best finish at NESCAC’s since taking fourth at the 2010 conference tournament.
The Polar Bears will return to action later this month at the CSA National Tournament which begins on Feb. 28 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Nordic skiing
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – The Polar Bears braved brutal temperatures to extend their string of top-three finishes at the Williams Carnival on Friday and Saturday.
The Williams Carnival was moved to historic Lake Placid due to snow pack concerns in Massachusetts. The start of Friday’s race was delayed to allow temperatures to rise from negative digits. Frigid temperatures led to ideal snow conditions and the course held up well throughout competition.
The Polar Bears were in third overall after the classic with 201 points. In Saturday’s skate relay, the men reached the podium with a third-place finish to pace the weekend team point tally at 365, earning third overall.
Gabrielle Vandendries skied a blistering-fast second lap to earn third in the 10K classic and stand atop her first career podium. Vandendries’ podium finish is the first on the women’s side since Kaitlynn Miller at the Williams Carnival in her senior season. Renae Anderson snagged a seventh-place finish in the event. Lily Johnston secured a top-25 finish to help the women reach 101 points, good for third overall.
Christian Gostout was the top finisher on the men’s side in the classic race. The senior narrowly missed out on a top-five result, while teammate Elliot Ketchel also earned a top-10 finish (ninth overall). Peter Moore continued his strong first-year campaign with a 16th place result.
Saturday’s skate relay was a battle between the University of New Hampshire and Bowdoin for second and third on the men’s side. Trailing UNH by 33 seconds after one skier, the Polar Bears narrowed the gap to 18 seconds before Ketchell took to the snow for the final lap. Ketchel shaved 14 seconds off the Wildcats lead, but wasn’t quite able to fully close the gap to steal second.
The third place relay finish was a program-best on the men’s side, with the previous mark standing as a sixth place finish at last year’s Dartmouth Carnival.
The women earned 68 points for the team with an eighth-place finish in the skate relay.
The Polar Bears are at the Middlebury Carnival (NCAA Regional) Feb. 28-29.
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