BRUNSWICK – The Bowdoin College women’s basketball team shook off any concerns one may have had after suffering its first loss of the season
Bowdoin’s Sam Roy (1) looks to pass inside during the NCAA D-III women’s regional game at Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine, (Brian Beard / CIP)
less than a week ago.
The host Polar Bears hit their first five shots while taking a 28-9 advantage after one quarter and never looked back, cruising to a 93-73 win over Hunter College in the first-round of the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament Friday night at Morrell Gymnasium.
“We were locked and focused,” Bowdoin coach Adrienne Shibles said about her team’s 10-0 start to open the game. “We want to make that extra pass, work our offense.”
The Polar Bears (27-1) will square off against Smith College on Saturday, 74-51 winners over U.S. Merchant Marine in the evening’s earlier match up. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on the Brunswick campus.
Hunter, winners of 15 of their last 16 games, never found its rhythm in the opening frame, missing its first four shot attempts, only hitting two field goals out of 13 attempts in the frame.
Meanwhile, the Polar Bears took advantage of the Hawks poor shooting and converted on the offensive end.
Sam Roy’s 3-point basket with 6:30 left in the quarter pushed the Bowdoin lead to 15-3.
A 13-3 run followed, with eight different players hitting the scoring column for the 19-point advantage after 10 minutes of play. Bowdoin shot 58 percent from the field, hitting three treys.
“I said ‘welcome to the NCAA tournament,'” Hunter coach John Garrett said to his team during a timeout after the 10-0 run. “They are a very good team, that’s one of the best teams in the country. I’m proud of our ladies, they fought until the end.”
The guard play of Roy and Taylor Choate continued to feed the post players for Bowdoin in the second frame.
Senior and New England Small College Athletic Conference Player of the Year Abby Kelly registered eight second-quarter points and Maddie Hasson netted five, playing a strong underneath, grabbing three of her six first-half rebounds in the quarter.
Freshman Annie Boasberg came off the bench and promptly sank a shot from behind the arc at 3:45 to give the Polar Bears a commanding 43-22 lead.
While Bowdoin did not shoot the same 58 percent clip in the second quarter as they did in the first, the Polar Bears led by as many as 27 points in the second quarter and extended their lead to 54-30 at the break.
Kelly and Roy led the home team with 10 points apiece, while Graham and Hasson had nine and eight, respectively. Choate, Boasberg and Olivia Ware each registered five points for the Polar Bears.
“They have a lot of different people that can score,” Garrett added. “They have more depth than we do, it it showed tonight.”
Hunter’s Jade Aponte led all scorers at the break with 16 points.
Bowdoin held the advantage in rebounds, 28-19 behind Hasson’s eight and Cordelia Stewart’s four.
Moving on
Choate nailed a 3-point basket to open the scoring in the second half, as the Polar Bears kept finding the bottom of the net.
Another 3-pointer from Choate and the same from Ware gave Bowdoin its biggest lead of the game to that point at 35.
Choate’s seven third-quarter points, along with Ware’s six and Sela Kay’s five, the Polar Bears took a commanding 77-46 lead after 30 minutes. Bowdoin converted 15-of-18 free throws during the second quarter.
“That’s the best thing about our team, anyone can score and we take pride in passing the ball around,” Choate said.
Kay nailed back-to-back treys in the first two minutes of the fourth, prompting a Hunter timeout, and a chance to get everyone experience by getting the bench players some action.
Bowdoin was able to get all 14 players in the game, getting 34 points from their bench.
Despite the large deficit, Hunter’s Aponte continued to light up the scoreboard, the senior guard poured in 18 fourth-quarter points to finish with 36 on the night. The sharp-shooting guard also grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds.
“I just wanted to go out do the best we could,” Aponte said after scoring a career high in her final game. “I told my teammates later in the game, ‘go out and have fun, that the outcome wasn’t going to change, so enjoy it.”
After Aponte’s points, Selina Lim netted 10 and Conway chipped in with nine for the Hawks.
Roy led Bowdoin with 16 points before fouling out with six minutes remaining in the fourth. Choate and Kelly each registered 12 points. Hasson had 10 points (and 11 rebounds), and fellow starter Hannah Graham scored nine.
Kay tallied 11 points off the bench. Nine different players recorded an assist for the Polar Bears.
Bowdoin outrebounded the Hawks, 51-34, including 19 offensive boards, leading to second-chance points for the Polar Bears.
Smith 74, Merchant Marine 51
Bowdoin’s Taylor Choate (4) dives to the hoop during the NCAA D-III women’s regional game at Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine, (Brian Beard / CIP)
Smith College used a strong first half, racing out to a 40-23 lead at the break and cruised to the 74-51victory in the opening contest at Morrell Gymnasium.
After a 19-10 first quarter, Smith used a 21-13 second-quarter advantage to extend the lead.
The Pioneers (22-6) used a balanced scoring attack, putting four players in double digits against the top-ranked defensive scoring team, led by Katy McClellan’s 21 points. Elle Jo Whalen registered 15 points, while Lauren Bondi and Kennedy Guest-Pritch split 24 points down the middle. Guest-Pritch also hauled down 14 rebounds.
The Mariners (22-4) were paced by Kaleigh D’Arcy’s game-high 23 points. D’Arcy eclipsed the 1,000 point mark in the third quarter.
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