Courtsey of Brian Beard

Last Saturday, the women’s basketball team (25–0; 11–0 NESCAC) defeated Williams College (14–11; 4–7 NESCAC) 71–46 in the first round of the NESCAC tournament. The Polar Bears are the top seed and will host the NESCAC semifinals against fourth-seed Amherst College (19–6; 7–4 NESCAC) tomorrow at 2 p.m. If Bowdoin wins, it will play the winner of second-seed Colby College (14–10; 8–3 NESCAC) versus third-seed Trinity College (18–7; 7–4 NESCAC) on Sunday at noon.

In the regular season, the Polar Bears beat Williams 80–56 in Morrell Gymnasium, giving the team plenty of energy going into last Saturday’s matchup, according to captain Callie Godfrey ’24.

“Knowing that we had played them before gave us confidence going into the game and a certain knowledge of the matchup,” Godfrey said. “A lot of the goals we focused on for this game were things we didn’t do as well in the last game [against Williams]…. Our transition defense and offense were a focus for us.”

After the scoring opened with a quick Williams bucket, Bowdoin scored seven unanswered points with quick ball movement that led to plenty of open looks, including three-pointers from Maria Belardi ’26 and Carly Davey ’26.

“It’s always really nice to hit the first [three pointer]. I feel like it kind of gives me a little bit more energy going into the press right after, so it was a nice little cushion from the start of the game,” Belardi said. “But just building off of that and just seeing our team energy go up made me feel better.”

After ten minutes of play, the Polar Bears had a comfortable 24–12 margin. The dominance continued in the second quarter, as the defense stepped up, forcing six Williams turnovers, in part due to the full-court press the Polar Bears used.

“We talk a lot about no let ups of intensity and energy for 40 minutes, and sometimes that can look very different,” Godfrey said. “It doesn’t mean we have to be in a press the whole time; it just means we are executing.”

Belardi added that defense has been a focus for the team for the past few weeks in preparation for the tournament, particularly leading up to the semifinals.

“I don’t think we necessarily had the best emphasis on defense when we played at Amherst a few weeks ago. So I think that’s gonna be a key to the game, and we’ll just lock in on their scorers,” Belardi said.

The second half was more Bowdoin-brand basketball, featuring lots of quick passes and cuts from Bowdoin’s offense, while the Polar Bear’s defense limited shot opportunities for Williams. Bowdoin allowed only six points in the third quarter, while scoring 17, expanding the lead to 26 points going into the final ten minutes of the game.

Each Polar Bear played at least seven minutes in the game, almost a full quarter of action per player. Godfrey acknowledged this statistic, noting how well the team plays as a unit.

“We play our best basketball when we are having fun,” Godfrey said. “One of our goals is to play very selfless basketball, and that comes through with our plays, our assists and shots with ball movement. Nobody is ever focused on how their individual play is, it’s how we are doing as a team.”

Captain Sydney Jones ’25 finished the game with 18 points, eight rebounds and six steals, five of which she picked up in the first 20 minutes of play. Belardi’s consistency from beyond the arc continued, as her nine points came by way of three three-balls. Grace Kinum ’28 supplied eight points and seven rebounds off the bench as the Polar Bears scored twice as many bench points as the Ephs, 16-8. Bowdoin also forced 21 turnovers, which led to 28 points on offense.

Godfrey mentioned the support she and the team feels from the Bowdoin community.

“Yes, everyone loves our team as basketball players, but it’s really special to have one of my professors and her family come,” Godfrey said. “Her daughter gives me a high-five after every game. It’s really nice to have the community show up and see the hard work we’ve put in.”

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s matchup versus the Mammoths, the focus for Belardi and the team is to keep their winning streak and momentum going throughout the month of March.

“It’s a big game, but also, once the ball gets thrown up at tip, I hope all those nerves go away and we just play our game like it’s any other regular season game,” Belardi said.

Ava Arepally and Ava Moore contributed to this report.