MEDFORD, Mass. - The Bowdoin College women's basketball team will play in its 10th NESCAC final tomorrow after defeating Amherst College, 74-66, in the conference tournament semifinals played at Tufts Saturday.

The second-seeded Polar Bears built a 21-point (43-22) halftime lead over the third-seed Lord Jeffs and then led by double digits until the final minute. Junior Shannon Brady paced Bowdoin (23-3) with a game-high 22 points, while sophomore Meredith Doswell had 14 for Amherst (22-3).

The Polar Bears will face host and #1 seed Tufts in the NESCAC final Sunday at noon. The Jumbos eliminated #4 seed Williams, 54-40, in Saturday's other semifinal. Bowdoin will playing for its ninth conference title, while Tufts is looking for two in a row.

Today, Bowdoin burst out of an early tie to score 11 unanswered points and take an 18-7 advantage. A pair of field goals from Brady, a three from senior Sara Binkhorst and a three-point play by first-year Kate Kerrigan led that charge.

For Amherst, sophomore Hannah Peterson responded with a shot from downtown and junior Marley Giddins added a lay-up to bring the Lord Jeffs within six (18-12).  However, the Polar Bears pulled away over the remaining nine-plus minutes. A 16-4 stretch gave Bowdoin a 34-16 lead at the four-minute mark.

Binkhorst finished the first half as the point leader for the Polar Bears with 11, while Brady added 10.  Bowdoin was an impressive 17 for 31 from the field (54.8 percent), including four for five on threes. They out-rebounded Amehrst 20-12 in the first 20 minutes.

For the Lord Jeffs, Meredith Doswell led with eight points at the half and rookie Hannah Hackley added seven.

The Polar Bears were able to maintain a healthy lead for the first five minutes of the second half, including 51-32 on a lay-up by sophomore Marle Curle. However, Amherst chipped away and had the margin down to 11 (52-41) when a pair of free throws by sophomore Ali Doswell capped a 9-2 run.

Bowdoin held the fort, pushing the lead back to 19 on a few occasions. Two free throws by Kerrigan had them up 68-49 with six minutes remaining in regulation. Amherst would out-score the Polar Bears 11-3 over the final 2:45 to cut the margin to eight, but it was too little, too late.

Brady (10 for 16 FGs) added seven rebounds and three assists to her game for Bowdoin, while Curle double-doubled with 19 and 11 to go with three assists. Binkforst finished with 12 points, six rebounds and five assists. Kerrigan pitched in four steals.