BOX SCORE

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. - The Bowdoin College women's basketball team did not trail after the opening moments to claim the 2009 Eastern Connecticut Tip-Off Tournament title, defeating the host Warriors 63-56 on Sunday afternoon. The Polar Bears (2-0) win the title for the second time, having also won the crown in 2005.

Tied at four apiece in the early going, Bowdoin outscored Eastern Connecticut 13-1 over a six-minute span to take a 17-5 lead after a three-pointer from Sabrina Cote and lay-in by Caitlin Hynes. The Polar Bears maintained a lead of 7-10 for the remainder of the period as the Bowdoin bench outscored Eastern Connecticut's 16-0 in the opening stanza to take a 37-29 lead into intermission.

The Warriors came out firing in the second half, quickly trimming the lead to four points after a Jessica Moriarty layup three minutes into the period. A jumper by Brittany Whiteley with 13 minutes to go finished off a 7-0 surge by the hosts that cut the lead to just two points, 44-42. On three occasions, the Warriors made it a single-possession game in the second half, but could never find the equalizer as Bowdoin's defense stood tall. A key 7-1 run, sparked by a Jill Henrikson three-pointer, gave the Polar Bears some space, pushing the lead to eight points with under seven minutes to play.

Bowdoin sealed the win by forcing 10 second-half turnovers and connecting on 9-of-10 free throws in the period. Henrikson finished with a game-high 18 points (9-9 from the charity stripe) while Hynes had 15 points for the second-consecutive night. Ellery Gould also reached double figures with 10 points. Whiteley led four Eastern Conn. players in double figures with 14. The Polar Bears held the hosts to just 29% shooting for the game.

Hynes was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Tournament while Gould and Henrikson also collected All-Tournament honors.