|
Volume CXXXIII, Number 15 |
 |
Undefeated women end regular season with win over Colby
BETH KOWITT
ORIENT STAFF
 |
| Vanessa Russell '06 at guard takes it to the hoop against Colby on Saturday. Bowdoin went on to win the game 76-48. The team takes on Colby again tomorrow for the first round of NESCACs. (Courtesy of Alex Cornell du Houx) |
After beating Colby in the last game of regular season play, the undefeated and top-seeded Bowdoin Women's Basketball Team (23-0 overall, 9-0 conference) will take on the Colby squad again for the first round of NESCACs tomorrow.
The women played for a packed house at home on Saturday. "The crowd was awesome," said senior captain Courtney Trotta. "I was joking with Alison Smith ['05] that it was the most people we had seen in the gym before the game started, and it was probably before half the campus was awake."
The Polar Bears kicked off the game with a nine-point run and midway through the first period, they had held the Mules to only four points. By the end of the half, they were up 48 to the Mules's 20.
"The key to our Colby win was coming out of the gate fast and focused on our task," said Head Coach Stefanie Pemper. "The first ten minutes our press was tough, and offensively we had a bunch of players shooting with confidence."
The squad showed off its shooting skills to the home crowd, hitting an amazing 19 out of 27 in the first half. "We were just really clicking in the first half; we shot 70 percent, which is unreal," said Trotta.
The second half followed in much the same vein for the team as it went 11 for 21, a 52.4 shooting percentage. "Being ahead by that much after the first half put us in a mode of 'let's just have fun and enjoy it,'" said senior captain Lora Trenkle.
The Bears clinched the 76-48 win, led by first-year Eileen Flaherty's 14 points (six for seven) followed by Trenkle's 13. Justine Pouravelis '06 and Erika Nickerson '05 also hit double-digits with ten apiece. Pouravelis led the team with three blocks and six rebounds.
"Our next game with [the Mules] should be tough because there is so much at stake," said Trotta. "They are clearly going to try to prove that they are a good team, and we're both playing to keep our season going. That's what's great about playoffs, especially in our league. Everyone ups their game, and it makes it really exciting. Our plan is to do the same sort of things as last weekend, and just try to improve on the lapses we had in the second half."
Bowdoin will enter the NESCACs with a 38-game-home-winning streak and the number one national ranking in the DH3hoops.com and WBCA/ESPN/USA Today polls.
"The NESCAC tournament is a special event, and one that we have ultimate respect for," said Pemper. "Colby out-rebounded us last week, and I'm sure they're thinking if they can just get us to shoot a lower percentage they're in the game. It'll take a great team effort on our part on Saturday."
Hopefully the 2:00 p.m. game at home will be only the beginning of a successful run in the NESCACs. "Now that our season is over, we are looking ahead with a clean slate, meaning that we are 0-0," said Trenkle. "This Saturday will be yet another test of our abilities to perform for 40 full minutes."
For information on sending a letter to the editor, please click here.
|
FastCounter by bCentral |