BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Bowdoin College women's basketball team pulled away in the second half to earn a 66-56 win over Bates in the 2024 NESCAC Championship game Sunday in Morrell Gymnasium. The Polar Bears (25-2) capture their tenth NESCAC title - the most in league history - and first since 2020, while the Bobcats fall to 22-5. 

Bowdoin captures the NESCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament that will begin next Friday, March 1. The Bobcats will hope for an at-large bid when selections are announced on Monday afternoon at NCAA.com. 

Game Highlights

• The teams started out slowly, as the capacity crowd in Morrell Gymnasium saw the Bobcats carry an 11-10 lead thanks to four early points from Alexandra Long. 
• An 8-0 Bowdoin run gave the Polar Bears the lead for good midway through the second quarter, and a layup in the closing moments of the half by Carly Davey gave the hosts a 23-21 lead at the break. 
• The Polar Bears came out firing in the third quarter, rolling off an 8-0 run highlighted by buckets from Sydney Jones and Callie Godfrey to push Bowdoin's lead to double-digits just 90 seconds into the second half. 
• The Polar Bears would never trail again, but Bates wouldn't go away, cutting the margin to five points entering the fourth quarter on an Elsa Daulerio bucket, 42-37.
• The Bobcats cut the lead to three points, 42-39, following a layup by Long with 9:52 to go. 
• Bowdoin replied with a key 7-2 surge, capped by a Maria Belardi three-pointer that gave the Polar Bears a 49-41 edge with seven minutes remaining. 
• After Bates cut it to six on the next possession, Bowdoin rolled off a game-clinching  7-0 surge that pushed the lead to double digits and put the contest on ice. 

By The Numbers

• A balanced Bowdoin effort was led by 15 points, eight assists, eight rebounds, and three steals from Sydney Jones. 
• Jess Giorgio tallied 13 points and six rebounds and Carly Davey finished with 12 points and five boards. 
• Jai Duval led a solid effort by the Bowdoin bench, scoring nine points. 
• Bates was paced by 15 points apiece from Elsa Daulerio and Alexandra Long. 
• The Polar Bears finished at 38% shooting from the field and held Bates to 30%.
• Bowdoin also scored 16 key points off 12 Bates turnovers. 
• The NESCAC Championship is the tenth for Bowdoin, the most by any NESCAC team in league history, and the first since 2020. It is also the first conference title for second-year head coach Megan Phelps. 

Up Next

• Bowdoin is expected to be named a first/second round host site when the NCAA announces Division III Tournament selections on Monday at 2:30 p.m. First round games would be Friday evening with Saturday's second round scheduled for another evening game. Bates will await word on a likely at-large bid.