BRUNSWICK — They were favored and on their home court. Yet they were the ones playing tight and making mistakes.
Top-ranked Bowdoin made 21 turnovers and suffered its first loss of the year Sunday, a 75-69 defeat to sixth-ranked Tufts in the New England Small College Athletic Conference championship game in Morrell Gymnasium.
Tufts (24-2) earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. Despite the loss, Bowdoin (26-1) will receive an at-large invitation and likely will host games in the first two rounds.
Bowdoin, like last year, beat Tufts in the regular season but lost to the Jumbos in the NESCAC tournament.
“This definitely feels different,” Bowdoin Coach Adrienne Shibles said. “It hurts more.”
The Polar Bears were in position to win their first NESCAC championship in 10 years. Bowdoin beat Tufts and fourth-ranked Amherst during the regular season.
Bowdoin’s loss came one day after No. 8 St. Joseph’s lost for the first time this season in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference final. That leaves No. 2 St. Thomas More (27-0) of Kentucky as the lone unbeaten Division III team.
The Polar Bears have been a power all season. They were paced Sunday by their usual leaders, with Maddie Hasson scoring 20 points and Abby Kelly adding 16. Point guard Samantha Roy recorded 12 points, five assists and five rebounds, and Taylor Choate had 11 points.
But the Polar Bears rarely found a rhythm.
“We had trouble taking care of the ball,” Hasson said. “It was (physical underneath) but we expected that.”
Tufts played tight defense, but several times Bowdoin made unforced mistakes with ill-conceived passes and rushed plays.
“Give credit to Tufts. They’re a great defensive team,” Shibles said. “But I don’t think we handled ourselves with poise today. I think it was a matter of (our players) wanting it so much that they allowed heart to take over, where the head should be.”
Shibles saw early signs. In the first quarter, when Tufts took a 23-19 lead, Bowdoin made five turnovers and allowed 20 points on layups or off offensive rebounds.
“The first quarter, I was really disappointed,” Shibles said. “We did everything contrary to the game plan … (which was) keeping them out of the paint.”
Bowdoin rallied in the second quarter with a Kelly drive, a Roy 3-pointer and an inside drive by Hasson for a 26-25 lead with 5:58 left in the half.
The Polar Bears didn’t lead again despite shooting 48 percent and hitting seven 3-pointers.
“We played a little more defense,” said Tufts Coach Carla Berube, referencing Bowdoin’s 82-63 win at Tufts on Jan. 5. This time “we did a good job off their screens, and keeping Roy and Choate from getting to the rim.
“But they’re still Bowdoin and they put up a lot of points anyway. We had to score, too.”
Often the Jumbos used nearly the whole 30-second clock to find an open player. Several times, point guard Jac Knapp took matters into her own hands, finding an open lane and driving. She scored a game-high 25 points.
“We did a great job moving the ball,” Knapp said. “We knew the double (teaming) was coming. We had to find the open man.”
Bowdoin tried to double 5-foot-11 forward Erica DeCandido, who still scored 17 points.
Tufts led 52-51 after the third quarter. The Jumbos started the fourth with eight straight points – DeCandido’s drive, Knapp’s drive and free throw, and Knapp’s 3-pointer – for the game’s biggest lead.
Bowdoin closed to 67-65 with 2:45 left. Tufts hits two free throws, and Bowdoin’s next two possessions resulted in turnovers.
Choate hit two free throws to make it 69-67, but only 30 seconds remained. The Polar Bears had to foul, and Tufts went 6 of 6 from the line to close it out.
Last year, Bowdoin lost to Tufts 60-48 in the NESCAC semifinals. The Polar Bears responded by winning five NCAA tournament games, including a 66-48 win over Tufts, before losing to Amherst in the national championship game.
“We really used that Tufts loss last year to get better and go deeper in the NCAA tournament,” Shibles said. “That’s what we emphasized today. We’re going to hit the film. We’re going to work hard in practice and prepare.”
Or, as Hasson put it, “we’ll figure it out … We have a championship to win.”
Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:
kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: KevinThomasPPH
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