BOX
SCORE
MEDFORD, Mass. - Visiting Bowdoin College out-scored Tufts 15-4 in
overtime as the Polar Bears continued their great success in the
NESCAC Women's Basketball Tournament with a 65-54 victory in the
quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at Cousens Gymnasium.
Bowdoin (20-5), led by a game-high 24 points from senior
tri-captain Caitlin Hynes, advances to the conference semi-finals
for the 10th time in the 10-year history of the event. They will
face Colby (22-3) next Saturday (Feb. 27) at Amherst College. The
Polar Bears, winners of eight conference titles, are now 25-1
overall since the conference tournament began in 2001. Tufts
(20-5), led by 17 points and 17 rebounds from senior Julia Baily,
will await a possible at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.
The Jumbos had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation.
After sophomore Kate Barnosky rebounded her own three-pointer miss,
Tufts pulled it out and put the ball in the hands of junior guard
Colleen Hart. In the closing seconds, Hart's underhand scoop-shot
missed and was rebounded by junior tri-captain Vanessa Miller under
the basket. Miller's lay-up didn't fall and Bowdoin senior
tri-captain Leah Rubega grabbed the rebound to send the game to
overtime tied at 50-50.
Hynes scored six points and blocked three shots in OT for Bowdoin,
while senior tri-captain Sabrina Cote had four points. Rubega
grabbed two of the Polar Bears' three offensive rebounds in the
period. The Jumbos made just one of nine shots in overtime, helping
Bowdoin build a seven-point lead (61-54) with the clock winding
down under a minute. The Polar Bears were nine for 10 from the free
throw line in the extra period.
The game was tightly contested throughout between fourth-seed Tufts
and fifth-seed Bowdoin. Hynes had 16 points in the first half as
the Polar Bears took a 32-27 advantage into halftime. Baily had
nine points and seven boards at the break for Tufts.
The Polar Bears extended the lead to nine (36-27) early in the
second half following a lay-up by first year Kaitlin Donahoe. Tufts
answered with a 14-4 run during a six-minute span to take a 41-40
lead at the halfway point of the period. The Jumbos went up by five
(46-41) on Barnosky's lay-up at 5:46, but a three-point play by
junior Katie Bergeron and a bucket by Rubega tied the score at
46-46 at the four-minute mark. Tufts twice took two-point leads on
free throws by Hart and Baily, but a lay-up by sophomore Amy
Hackett assisted by Hynes with 56 seconds on the clock tied it at
50-50. After Tufts was unable to convert at the other end, the game
went to overtime and Bowdoin dominated.
Cote was the only other scorer in double figures for Bowdoin with
11 points, while Rubega finished with nine points and 12 rebounds.
Bergeron tallied six points, seven rebounds, and three assists. The
Polar Bears finished with a 34-14 point advantage in the paint.
Barnosky also had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds
for Tufts, which shot just 28.1 percent (18/64) overall. Miller
helped Tufts earn a 48-42 rebounding edge with nine boards to go
with six points, two assists, two blocks, and two steals.
