MEDFORD, Mass. - The Bowdoin College women's basketball team came up just short in a 63-51 loss to Amherst in the NESCAC Semifinals on Saturday at Tufts University.

Bowdoin falls to 20-6 on the season and is likely to receive an at-large bid when selections are announced for the NCAA Tournament on Monday afternoon. Amherst moves to 25-1 and will play Tufts on Sunday for the NESCAC title.

Game Highlights

• A defensive struggle in the opening quarter saw the Purple & White hold a 12-9 lead thanks to five early points from Hannah Hackley
• Bowdoin rebounded in the second quarter as Marle Curle scored eight points, including a pair of three-pointers to cut the Amherst lead to 25-24 late in the half
• Taylor Choate's running lay-up gave Bowdoin a brief 26-25 lead with under a minute to play, but Amherst's Meredith Doswell hit a layup at the buzzer to give her team a 27-26 edge at the break
• The teams traded buckets to open the second half as the game found itself tied, 34-34 midway through the third quarter
• Hackley scored five points to spark a 7-0 run to close out the final four minutes of the period, giving Amherst a 41-34 advantage heading into the fourth
• Amherst scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, putting Bowdoin in an 11-point hole
• The Polar Bears wouldn't go away, however, as they rolled off six straight points to close the gap to 45-40 with 6:39 to play
• But Amherst stemmed every Bowdoin rally thanks to Hackley, who scored nine straight points for her team to keep it a two-possession game throughout
• A Marle Curle free throw with 3:06 remaining trimmed the lead to five points again, 54-49, but Doswell answered with a three-pointer to push the lead back to eight with under two minutes to go

By The Numbers

• Amherst's three-point shooting was the difference as they connected for 11 trifectas in the victory compared to just three for Bowdoin
• The Polar Bears were able to force 20 Amherst turnovers, cashing them in for 18 points, but were out-rebounded 43-31 and gave up 14 second-chance points
• Curle had 17 points and four assists while Shannon Brady finished with 15 and six rebounds
• Kate Kerrigan had seven points and a team-best 11 rebounds
• Hackley finished with a game-high 23 points while Doswell scored 10 with 11 boards

Up Next

• The NCAA selection show is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon. Fans can follow it online at ncaa.com/live