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BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Bowdoin College women's basketball team suffocated Castleton State en route to a 72-31 victory in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday night. The Polar Bears (24-4) have won at least one NCAA Tournament game in each of the last nine seasons, the longest streak in the nation, while Castleton (17-12) was making their first-ever appearance in the national tournament.

Bowdoin advances to face Muhlenberg, a 80-63 winner over Westfield State, in a second round game on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door 90 minutes prior to the game.

Before a near-capacity crowd on Friday evening, Bowdoin forced 18 first-half turnovers and used a huge run late in the period to take a commanding halftime lead. After Castleton's Leeanne Ketchen scored the game's initial bucket, Bowdoin used an 11-0 run to take an 11-2 advantage after a three-pointer from Maria Noucas six minutes into the game. The Spartans were able to trim the lead to five points on two occasions over the next few minutes, the last of which coming on a pair of free throws from Laura Cary with 9:38 remaining in the frame.

Bowdoin responded with a three-pointer from Ellery Gould - who sparked the Bowdoin bench with a dozen points on the night - and keyed a decisive Polar Bear surge. The Polar Bears outscored the Spartans 25-6 over the remainder of the half, including a 13-0 spurt that included five-straight points from Leah Rubega. Katie Bergeron totaled 12 points alone in the opening period to give Bowdoin a 39-15 lead at intermission. The Polar Bears would extend their lead to as many as 44 points in the second half in holding Castleton State to a season-low 31 points.

Bergeron had six rebounds to go with her game-high 16 points while Gould went 3-3 from long-distance for the Polar Bears. The Polar Bears collected 16 assists on their 25 baskets, including five from Noucas. The Polar Bears shot 41% from the field in the win and improve to 31-0 all-time in NCAA and NESCAC Tournament play at Morrell Gymnasium.

The Spartans were led by seven points from Mary Nienow and six from Kristie Dunchus. Castleton connected on just 22.9% of their shots from the field, including 17% (3-17) from three-point range.

Photos courtesy of Alex Cornell du Houx

Muhlenberg 80, Westfield State 63

BOX SCORE

BRUNSWICK, Maine - Senior guard Lauren Boyle scored a game-high 23 points to lead Muhlenberg (Pa.) College to an 80-63 victory over Westfield (Mass.) State in an NCAA Division III Tournament first round regional game at Bowdoin College on March 6.

Muhlenberg, 25-3, advances to the second round where it plays the winner of Bowdoin-Castleton State game. Westfield State finishes its season 22-5, the best season winning percentage in school history.

The Mules also had three other players score in double figures in their potent attack. Freshman guard Alexander Chili scored 18 points, making 6 of 11 shots from 3-point range. Sophomore guard Kelly McKeon finished with 15 points game highs of nine rebounds and seven assists. Sheila Cook, a 6-1 center from Rockville Centre, N.Y., had 16 points and tied for game-high honors with nine boards. Cook dropped in 14 of her points in the second half to help stop a Westfield comeback attempt.

In the first half, a key 12-0 run vaulted Muhlenberg to a 36-25 halftime lead. The teams traded buckets throughout the first 11 minutes of the first half before the Mules began their big scoring spurt at the 8:30 mark. Sparked by baskets from McKeon, Chilli and Boyle, coupled with several Westfield turnovers, Muhlenberg took a 30-18 lead with 5:02 remaining. Westfield reserve forward Molly Brogan stopped the scoring run with a driving layup at the 3:41 mark.

Westfield nearly cut the lead to single digits in the closing seconds of the first half, but senior Lauren Sylvain's 3-point attempt went halfway down the hoop before bouncing out. Lauren Sylvain, who scored a team-high 21 points, was red hot in the first half as she led the Owls with 13 points, making 4 of 6 attempts from 3-point range. Boyle (14 points), McKeon (11) and Chilli (9) powered the Mules in the first half.

Muhlenberg quickly took a 17-point, 45-28 lead in the opening two minutes of the second half, but Westfield didn't fold. The Owls went on a 12-2 run to cut the lead to seven with 14:45 remaining. Lauren Sylvain drained her sixth and final 3-point basket at the 15-minute mark and sophomore forward Christal Bello followed with an old fashioned 3-point play to make it 47-40.

But the Mules responded to the comeback by quickly building another double-digit lead with their strong inside-outside attack. Muhlenberg outrebounded Westfield, 45-38, and shot 50 percent (30-for-60) from the field. Westfield shot 35 percent from the field (24-for-69), including 9-for-24 from 4-point range.

Senior forward Andrea Wasuk - the Mass. State Conference Player of the Year – finished her fine four-year career by scoring 19 points. She was Westfield's only other player scoring in double figures.