WATERVILLE — The Bowdoin College women’s basketball team used a suffocating defensive effort to dispatch Colby, 50-39, on Saturday afternoon in NESCAC action.
The second-ranked Polar Bears remained unbeaten at 18-0 (5-0 NESCAC), while the Mules fall to 6-11 (1-4 NESCAC).
The Polar Bears set the tone early, holding the Mules to just 6-28 shooting in the first half (21%) and carrying a 28-15 lead into the break.
Colby clawed back into the contest with an 18-point third quarter, cutting the Bowdoin lead to 38-33 with 10 minutes to go.
The Mules came within three points following an Ainsley Burns bucket with 7:45 remaining, 38-35, but the Polar Bears immediately answered with a running layup by Samantha Roy.
Roy’s bucket sparked a decisive 10-0 surge for the Polar Bears, pushing the lead to 13 points, 48-35, with under five minutes to go.
The Polar Bears overcame a 36% shooting effort from the field thanks to a solid defensive effort that held the Mules to just 26% in the game.
Roy led the way for Bowdoin with a game-high 17 points to go with four rebounds and four assists. Maddie Hasson had eight points and 10 rebounds for the Polar Bears
Bowdoin returns to action tonight at Becker (7 p.m.).
Men’s basketball
Colby rallied from a five-point deficit with 12 minutes to go to stay unbeaten in an 81-67 NESCAC victory at Bowdoin on Saturday.
The fifth-ranked Mules moved to 17-0 (5-0 NESCAC), while the Polar Bears fell to 5-11 (1-4 NESCAC).
The teams traded blows in the opening half with neither squad taking more than a five point lead throughout. The Mules, who got 14 points apiece from Alex Dorion and Sam Jefferson in the first 20 minutes, carried a late five-point lead. But a rebound and buzzer-beating dunk by Bowdoin’s Sam Grad cut the Colby lead to 36-33 at the intermission.
Bowdoin came out of the gate quickly in the second half, using a 9-0 surge to take a 44-41 edge with 16 minutes remaining.
The Polar Bears extended their lead to five points, 50-45, following a David Reynolds jumper with 12:56 to go and had a pair of chances to extend the advantage.
Colby took advantage with a decisive 16-0 run, going from a 53-50 deficit to a 66-53 lead in just a three-minute span, sparked by a pair of Jefferson 3-pointers. The Mules extended their lead to as many as 16 points in the closing moments as they pulled away for the win.
Bowdoin was led by 22 points from Reynolds, while Grad had 12 points, seven boards and four assists. Stephen Ferraro pitched in 10 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Polar Bears.
Jefferson paced Colby with 24 points, including six 3-pointers.
Bowdoin will return to action on Tuesday evening at Pine Manor at 7 p.m.
Men’s hockey
Bowdoin scored three unanswered goals to take a 4-2 NESCAC win over visiting Middlebury on Friday inside Watson Arena.
The Panthers dropped their fifth straight came, falling to 7-8 (5-4 NESCAC).
The Polar Bears took a 1-0 lead midway through the first. Bradley Ingersoll intercepted a Middlebury pass in the top of the defensive zone and flipped the puck up and over for Cam Berube behind a Panthers defender. Berube remained onside as the puck remained in the air and tumbled into the Middlebury zone, eventually burying a shot on net.
The Panthers quickly evened the score 1:21 into the second. Following a scramble in front of Bowdoin’s net the puck found its way out to Billy Dobensky, who fired a shot from the right point. Just 20 seconds later, Middlebury took the lead. Cole Joslin took the puck off the back boards and wrapped around to the left post. Joslin backhanded a pass to the far post for an open look goal by Danny Tighe.
Bowdoin tied the game at 2-2 with 12:16 off the clock. Albert Washco fed Ingersoll from the right corner to the same side point. Ingersoll put a shot on pads that squirted to the far post where Thomas Dunleavy made a diving play to tie the game.
Michael Brown broke the deadlock with 9:04 remaining in the game. Bobby Pearl made a long breakout pass from the left corner of the Bowdoin zone to Brown in front of the Bowdoin bench. Brown skated in and took a soft wrister from the right dot to same side post.
Brown iced the game with an empty-net goal from in front of the Middlebury bench with 52 seconds left off a banked pass from Pearl.
Alex Zafonte made 29 stops for Bowdoin, Jake Horoho had 22 stops in the Panther cage.
Williams rolled to a 5-1 win over Bowdoin at Brunswick on Saturday.
The Polar Bears fell to 9-7-1 (5-5-1 NESCAC), while the Ephs left Maine with an 11-4-1 (8-2 NESCAC).
Bowdoin avoided the shutout with 42 seconds remaining in the game. Kyle St. Denis gloved the puck and tossed it to his left for Pearl, who made a long cross ice pass to Ethan Kimball in front of the Bowdoin bench. Kimball skated in and wristed a shot from the right circle.
Evan Ruschil made 36 saves for the win in net. Zafonte made 12 stops in two periods of action. St. Denis made 12 saves in the third.
Bowdoin hosts Colby this upcoming Saturday at 7 p.m
Women’s hockey
Julia Surgenor scored her first goal of the season in overtime to hand Bowdoin a 5-4 win over Williams on Saturday afternoon.
The Polar Bears (6-7-3, 4-5-1 NESCAC) forced a series split with the Ephs (9-5-3, 6-3-1 NESCAC), who won the opener on Friday, 4-1.
In Saturday’s win, Bowdoin scored a pair of goals in the first period, with Brett Stoddard putting the Polar Bears on the board at 11:54 and Katie Leininger doubling the lead three minutes later.
Williams tied the game with two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second, but Bowdoin regained the lead with a power-play tally from Leininger with 4:07 to play in the frame.
Izzi Stoddard pushed the Bowdoin lead to 4-2 midway through the third. Two minutes later, the Ephs made it 4-3 with a power-play goal.
With six skaters on the ice, Williams scored with 20 seconds to play, forcing overtime.
Surgenor capped her first weekend back on the ice with a game-winner 13 seconds into overtime.
Dani Marquez kept the Polar Bears in the game with 38 saves. Marissa Anderson made eight stops for Williams.
In Friday’s loss, Bowdoin scored the opening goal as Jess Cloutier scored off assists from Tala Glass and Zoe Wilson.
Marquez made 38 stops for Bowdoin. Chloe Heiting stopped 18 shots for Williams.
Swimming
The Bowdoin men’s and women’s squads its dual meets with Wesleyan and Trinity on Saturday afternoon.
The men picked up a 171-114 win over Wesleyan and a 161-109 win over Trinity. The women dominated the competition, scoring 195 points against Wesleyan and 203 against Trinity. The Bantams and Cardinals both tallied 91 points.
Bowdoin’s top relay team finished first in the 200 medley relay to set the tone. Marshall Lowery, Anna Roberts, Mary Laurita and Cassandra Maroney finished in 1:48.01. The time was a full two seconds ahead of the second-place team.
Nadia Eguchi finished first in both the 400 IM and 500 free. Kate Fosburgh turned in a pair of top finishes as well, taking first in 100 free and the 1,000 free.
Bowdoin finished first through fourth in the 200 backstroke with Lowery, Francesca Garces, Jess Gearan and Carly Dickson shutting out the competition.
Lowery also finished first in the 50 free, while Roberts was top in the 100 breaststroke. In the 200 free, Laurita earned first with teammate Erin Moody finishing third. Maroney and Julianna Kiley finished first and third, respectively, in the 200 fly. At the same distance, Emilie Grand’Pierre and Fosburgh finished one-two in the breaststroke.
Laurita, Lowery, Maroney and Amanda Banasiak combined for the best time in the 200 free relay. Thea Kelsey ended the day with a second-place finish in the 1-meter (227.00) and top points in the 3-meter (235.60).
In the men’s meet, Ted Mebust, Cameron Chertavian, Jacob Baltaytis and Ethan O’Connor started the meet with a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay.
Mebust turned in a pair of strong individual performances, taking first in the 50 free and third in the 100 back. Justin Yang had one first-place result in the 400 IM and a pair of third-place finishes in the 100 and 200 backstroke. Jackson Scott won the 100 fly. Henry Isaacson swept the diving events with 233.90 points in the 1-meter and 270.90 in the 3-meter.
The men capped the meet with a top finish in the 200 free relay, comprised of Scott, O’Conner, Michael O’Neal and Mebust.
The Polar Bears are at Colby on Saturday at noon.
Men’s squash
Bowdoin came up just short of knocking off 19th-ranked Middlebury on Friday afternoon, dropping a 6-3 decision to the Panthers.
The 23rd-ranked Polar Bears moved to 7-5 this season.
Deven Kanwal rallied from early deficit to take a 5-11, 12-10, 11-5, 11-8 win at the No. 1 position. Drew Clark collected a strong win at No. 8, taking an 11-7, 2-11, 11-7, 11-6 victory, while Edwardo Perez won by an 11-4, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5 score at No. 9.
The Polar Bears will return to action on Wednesday when they head to Waterville to play Colby at 6 p.m.
Track and Field
Bowdoin dominated a non-scoring invitational on Saturday against competition from Maine-Farmington, UNE and Thomas.
Double winners for the Polar Bear women included Elise Martin in the 60-meter hurdles (10.04) and the long jump (15-02.25), both marking her first collegiate wins.
Belinda Saint Louis won both the weight throw and shot put for the Bowdoin women, tossing 43-08 in the weight and 38-03.50 in the shot.
Cedric Blaise led the way for the Bowdoin men, taking first in both the triple jump (39-00.50) and long jump (20-09.75).
Lydia Pitts posted an indoor PR to win the women’s triple jump at 36-11.75.
First-years earning their first collegiate wins on Saturday included Jack McGinn (men’s weight throw), Leila Trummel (women’s 1,000) and Claire Wolff (women’s 3000).
The Polar Bears begin championship season this weekend as February begins with the Open New England Indoor Championship at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston on Saturday.
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