March 2, 2009

Bowdoin To Host NCAA Regional This Weekend

COMPLETE NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET [.pdf]

BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Bowdoin College women's basketball team, the champions of the New England Small College Athletic Conference, will host an NCAA first and second round regional this Friday and Saturday, March 6-7 at Morrell Gymnasium. The Polar Bears (23-4) will play Castleton State (17-11) at 7:00 p.m. Friday, following the first-round game between Muhlenberg (24-3) and Westfield State (22-4) at 5:00 p.m. The second-round game will be at 7:00 p.m. Saturday evening.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Friday, March 6
5:00 p.m. - Muhlenberg vs. Westfield State - LIVESTATS - WEBCAST
7:00 p.m. - Bowdoin vs. Castleton State - LIVESTATS - WEBCAST

Saturday, March 7
7:00 p.m. - Winners Meet - LIVESTATS - WEBCAST

Tickets are $6 for adults and $3 for children, students and seniors. Advance tickets can be purchased at the Athletic Offices on the second floor of Farley Field House beginning on Thursday from 3-6 p.m. and then again on Friday from 9 a.m. - 12 noon. Doors will be open to the gym and tickets will be available beginning 90 minutes before the first game each day.

TEAM CAPSULES

Bowdoin College Polar Bears (23-4)

Team Notes:
 The Bowdoin College women’s basketball team enters the NCAA Tournament for the ninth straight season as the champions of the New England Small College Athletic Conference...the Polar Bears have won at least one NCAA Tournament game in each of the past eight seasons, the longest streak in Division III, just ahead of Washington University, with seven...Bowdoin has a 20-9 all-time record in nine tournament appearances...Leah Rubega has twice been named the New England Player of the Week this season, posting seven double-doubles in 19 games this year...After leading Bowdoin to their eighth NESCAC crown, first-year head coach Adrienne Shibles was named the conference’s Coach of the Year...senior guard Maria Noucas was named First-Team All-NESCAC while first-year Jill Henrikson was named Rookie of the Year and a Second-Team All-Conference choice...Bowdoin is riding a nine-game winning streak entering NCAA Tournament play and boasts the fifth-best strength of schedule in Division III women’s basketball...the Polar Bears, who played in front of an average of nearly 900 fans per game this season, are 30-0 all-time in NCAA and NESCAC Tournament games in Morrell Gymnasium...Overall, Bowdoin is 102-5 at home since the beginning of the 2002-03 season.

Castleton State College Spartans (17-11)

Team Notes:
 The Castleton State College women’s basketball team is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament, as Champions of the North Atlantic Conference (NAC)…The conference crown is Castleton’s first since the 2002-03 season…Head Coach, Tim Barrett, has amassed a program-record 142 wins in eight seasons at the helm…Castleton led the NAC in scoring defense (56 ppg) and field goal percentage defense (32.8%), ranking 65th and 15th respectively in the country…Seven seniors including a trio of guards, Jess Banks, LeeAnne Ketchen and Mary Nienow, lead Castleton…Banks leads the offense, averaging 12.4 points and 3.8 assists, to go along with 4 rebounds per game. The three-time NAC All-Conference (twice a first-team selection) honoree became the 11th player in Castleton history to surpass the 1,000 career point plateau earlier this season…Nienow earned NAC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors, averaging 14.3 points and 2.7 rebounds over three games. In the final game, a 63-57 win over top-seed Husson, Nienow scored a career-high 27 points and was 8-for-10 from beyond the three-point arc. Also a 1,000 point scorer, her 241 career three-pointers ranks her second in program history.

Muhlenberg College Mules (24-3)

Team Notes:
 Muhlenberg won its third Centennial Conference championship in four years to earn its fifth NCAA Tournament berth …The Mules became the first team in league history to go through the regular season (18-0) and postseason (2-0) undefeated…The senior class of Lauren Boyle, Bethany Enterline, Erin McSherry and Kaitlin Strumph is the winningest in school history with a four-year record of 90-20…Muhlenberg is ranked 18th by D3hoops.com and (15th) by the WBCA …The Mules are fifth in Division III in fewest turnovers per game (14.3) and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.08)…Boyle and sophomore guard Kelly McKeon were first-team All-CC selections…Boyle is one of four players in CC history with more than 1,400 points (1,455) and 250 assists (274) …Three-time CC player of the week McKeon had a triple-double in the regular-season finale vs. Ursinus…Freshman Alexandra Chili is second in Division III in three-pointers…McSherry is the program’s all-time leader with 157 blocked shots.

Westfield State College Owls (22-4)

Team Notes:
 Westfield State is participating in its third NCAA Tournament…The Owls earned NCAA bids in 1995 and 1996…Fourth year Westfield State head coach Andrea Bertini (’96) played on two NCAA and two ECAC tournament teams during her standout four-year career for the Owls; she still ranks as one of the top 3-point shooters in NCAA Division III history… Westfield State is 22-4 with 13 victories in its last 14 games…The Owls captured both the MASCAC regular season and tournament championships during the same year for the first time in school history… The Owls have relied on defense, depth and balanced scoring in posting their best winning-percentage record in school history…The Owls go 11 deep and 10 or more players are averaging at least 11 minutes played per game…The Westfield bench is contributing more than 23 points per game…Senior forward Andrea Wasuk is the 2009 MASCAC Player of the Year and a three-time all-conference selection…Wasuk leads the conference in scoring (14.8) and the Owls in rebounding (6.0)…She recently moved ahead of Bertini on the Owls’ all-time scoring list and now has 1,354 career points…Senior guard Katie Sylvain ranks second on the team, averaging 11.8 points and leads in the conference in 3-point shooting percentage (43 percent).