BOWDOIN TRINITY BOX SCORE

BRUNSWICK, Maine - Leah Rubega scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Bowdoin College women's basketball team to a 74-56 win over Trinity College in the semifinals of the New England Small College Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday. The Polar Bears (21-4), winners of seven of the conference's eight championships, return to the title game after a one year absence and will face Amherst in the final at 1:00 p.m. Sunday. The Bantams, who were making their first appearance in the NESCAC semifinals, fall to 17-8.

With the game tied 7-7 in the early going, Claire Arnstein sparked a 10-2 Trinity surge, hitting a pair of fast break lay-ups and a jump shot to give the Bantams a 17-9 lead with 13 minutes remaining in the opening period. When Arnstein nailed another shot from the wing two minutes later, the Bantams held a 21-15 edge with 10 minutes left in the period.

Bowdoin's defense clamped down from there, allowing just two points over the final 10:22 and forcing 10 Bantam turnovers. Getting 17 points from frontcourt mates Rubega and Caitlin Hynes, the Polar Bears closed the half on a 17-2 run to take a nine-point lead at intermission. When Hynes banked in a short jumper at the buzzer, Bowdoin held their largest lead of the game 32-23.

The teams traded buckets to open the second half, but Bowdoin put the game away with a 22-6 run over a ten-minute span. After not hitting a three-pointer in the first half, the Polar Bears connected for four in the second stanza to help put the game out of reach. Bowdoin led by as many as 24 points in the second half en route to victory.

Rubega collected a team-high six rebounds in addition to her game-high point total as Bowdoin out-rebounded the Bantams 50-37 for the game. Hynes ended with 12 points, five rebounds and five blocks for the Polar Bears while Alexa Kaubris also saw double figures with 10 points.

Trinity was led by 15 points from Arnstein, while Christine Card (12 and six rebounds) and Michelle Royals (11) also saw double digits.

The Polar Bears will play Amherst or Tufts in the NESCAC title game at 1:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

AMHERST-TUFTS BOX SCORE

BRUNSWICK, Maine - The defending NESCAC Champion Amherst women's basketball team survived a defensive struggle, and got a career-high 23 points from Jackie Daigneault in a 49-46 win over Tufts University on Saturday. The Jeffs (25-1) will take on Bowdoin at 1:00 p.m. Sunday in the NESCAC title game. Tufts (21-4) will hope for an NCAA Tournament bid when the field is announced on Monday.

Neither team could find a rhythm in the first half as the squads combined to hit just 11 of 48 shots (22.9%) in the opening stanza. After Tufts' Rachel Figaro hit a three-pointer to trim Amherst's lead to 12-10 with 9:52 to go in the period, the Jumbos went cold. Tufts would not score again until 2:04 was remaining in the half when Kate Barnosky connected from downtown. Meanwhile, Amherst struggled as well, but managed to extend their lead to nine points and settled for a six-point edge, 21-15 at the break. The teams combined for 30 turnovers in the half.

Both teams found their stride in the second period and the game became a back-and-forth affair. The Jumbos opened the second half with a 7-0 run and took a brief 22-21 lead before Amherst rebounded with a run of their own. Sparked by a Stacy Brossy three-pointer, Amherst rolled off an 11-0 run to take a ten point lead, 36-26, with 12:08 to go. Moments later, Tufts bounced back with a 9-0 surge, capped by a three-pointer and lay-in from Kim Moynihan to deadlock the score at 39 apiece with six minutes to go.

The teams swapped buckets down the stretch, and Tufts had a chance to take the lead with under a minute to play, but a missed jumper by Julia Baily was collected by Kim Fiorentino. Down at the other end, Fiorentio connected on a three-pointer from the top of the key to give Amherst the last lead of the game. Neither team would score again as Amherst clung to victory.

Moynihan led Tufts with 16 points while Casey Sullivan added seven. Amherst has beaten Tufts four straight times, including last year's NESCAC Championship game.