Women’s basketball is still undefeated after a decisive 68-41 victory over Endicott last night. With a 7-0 record, the team is currently ranked No. 14 by D3hoops.com, No. 11 by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) poll and No. 4 in the NCAA Northeast regional ranking.
The team continued its dominance last week with a 60-38 win over Colby (4-3) last Saturday and a 103-33 annihilation of the University of Maine-Farmington (UMF) (1-6) on Tuesday.
“Colby always gives us a tough game, so Saturday was great in that we got the win,” said captain Rachel Norton ’17. “But we also saw areas we need to focus in on. We had a nice start, but ultimately we’re trying to build on it every day. We can be more consistent and tougher in our rebounding game, and every day we are trying to improve our defensive rotations and pressures.”
The team’s dominating performance over UMF was also a record-breaking one—the Polar Bears’ 58 points in the first half is a Bowdoin record for points in a half and the team’s total of 103 now ranks second in points for in a single game.
Last year’s offense largely focused on Shannon Brady ’16, who led the team with 16.8 points per game—which was 7.8 points ahead of the next highest scorer—but this season has featured much more parity. Kate Kerrigan ’18 leads the team with 10.6 points per game, followed closely by Lauren Petit ’18 with 8.0 points per game and captain Marle Curle ’17 with 7.0 points per game.
“Team chemistry is a huge factor in the success we have had,” Head Coach Adrienne Shibles said. “The team is a close-knit group—very selfless and we are all on the same page with regard to values and what we feel like is important.”
Norton said that the Polar Bears have great team chemistry on and off the court and have fun playing with one another. In addition, the team’s depth has been a key factor in its early success.
“We have a very deep bench which allows fresh legs to get in often without seeing any drop in our play,” she said.
Despite losing the program’s leading rebounder in Brady, this year’s team has dominated the glass on both sides of the ball, grabbing 41 offensive rebounds over its last two games. Still, Shibles sees room for improvement.
“[Rebounding] is something we have to improve on to achieve our potential as a team,” she said.
After their victory over Endicott, the Polar Bears now face one of their toughest opponents with a home game against Bates. Despite its lack of experience, the team is confident that if it sticks to its game plan it will not be phased.
“They have all the pieces but they lack the depth that we have,” said Shibles. “We’re two very different teams. I think it will be whoever plays to the strengths more will end up victorious in the game.”
After the Bates game, the team’s next competition will be in California over winter break where it will play against Claremont McKenna and Pomona-Pitzer.
“We’re playing two strong teams out there, which will only help us going forward. We’re an incredibly close team, so we can’t wait to make the trip together,” Norton said.
Bowdoin hopes to continue its win-streak and improve its performance, and Norton said that there are obvious end goals, like a NESCAC Championship. The team has no doubt it can reach these goals. Still, complacency remains a worry, and the team will continue to make a deliberate push to stay focused on the present and on what it can control.
“We have gotten into a mode where we don’t like opposition. Our biggest opposition is ourselves. We go into every game focusing on how can we get better,” Shibles said.
The Polar Bears look to continue their dominant performance at Morrell Gymnasium on Saturday at 3 p.m.