BRUNSWICK, Maine – Bowdoin's Katie Bergeron scored a game-high 18 points to lead the Polar Bear women's basketball team to a 69-51 victory over Bates in the Quarterfinals of the NESCAC Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Morrell Gymnasium. The third-seeded Polar Bears (21-4) advance to play Colby in the Semifinals next Saturday at top-seeded Amherst College. Bates finishes its season with a record of 17-8.
With the victory, Bowdoin improves to 21-0 all-time in NESCAC Tournament games at Morrell Gymnasium and will make their 11th consecutive appearance in the semifinals, being the only team to reach the semifinals in each of the tournament's 11 seasons.
Bergeron added six assists, five steals and four assists in the win for Bowdoin. Alexa Barry added 13 points for the Polar Bears while Colleen Sweeney and Nicole Coombes pitched in ten points apiece. Jessie Igoe led the Bobcats with 13 points as Taryn O'Connell chipped in ten off the bench. Bowdoin held Bates to just 27% shooting for the contest.
Tied at 10-10 midway through the opening period, Bowdoin used a 14-0 run to pad their lead to 24-10 on a Katie Bergeron three-pointer and a pair of Jill Henrikson free throws with 5:30 remaining in the stanza. The Polar Bears forced 17 first-half turnovers and led by double-digits for the remainder of the period, settling for a 33-20 lead at halftime.
The Bobcats came out firing after intermission, using an 8-2 run, capped by an Annie Burns three-pointer, to trim the lead to seven points (35-28) just three minutes into the second half. Bowdoin replied with a 9-2 flurry that pushed the lead back to double digits, highlighted by a driving lay-in from Bergeron and an Amy Hackett trifecta to take a 48-33 edge with 12:30 to go.
Bates could get no closer than 10 points for the remainder of the game as the Polar Bears' 18-point margin at the buzzer was their biggest of the contest.
With the win, Bowdoin avenges a 77-56 loss to Bates on January 22 in Brunswick. The Polar Bears had beaten Bates in a non-conference game on January 11 in Lewiston, 67-61.
