Courtesy of Michael Maher P ’12

Courtesy of Michael Maher P ’12

Courtesy of Michael Maher P ’12

Courtesy of Michael Maher P ’12

After beating Wesleyan University (7–15; 2–8 NESCAC) and Trinity College (16–8; 5–5 NESCAC) this past weekend, the women’s basketball team (22–1; 10–0 NESCAC) finished its regular season undefeated in conference play. Its success also earned them the top seed in the NESCAC tournament, which kicks off tomorrow.

The Polar Bears never trailed in their game versus Wesleyan on Friday night. Holding the Cardinals to eight points in the first half, the team cruised to a 71–31 victory. The scoring bug continued into Saturday’s game against Trinity, as the team led by as much as 19 points. The Bantams would tie the game in the fourth quarter before the Polar Bears took the lead once and for all, winning 70–57.

Rachel Storey ’26 emphasized how consistency was the key to staying unbeaten in the NESCAC.

“[Any team] could beat anybody else on any given night, and we were able to stay above that and stay undefeated,” Storey said. “It feels really good to put together a consistent stretch of ten games.”

The team’s success this season didn’t come without its struggles. The team suffered its only loss to Calvin University (15–10) in December.

“I think that was a point in the season where we all realized that we care so much about this team, about this program, about basketball in general,” Maria Belardi ’26 said. “And after that, we really got things together and really hit the ground running.”

The team went on to win 14 straight games, pushing its record to 22–1 overall. The growth of the group throughout the season was reflected in its play.

“On Friday night, we beat Wesleyan by 40 points. I don’t think, a few weeks ago, [that] we would have been able to do that,” Storey said. “We showed we can put teams away but also we can come from behind or come from a tied third quarter and win in close games as well. And I think that’s key going into postseason.”

Heading into the postseason, the Polar Bears earned the first seed in the NESCAC tournament for the third year in a row, where the team will have the home court advantage.

“It’s something that really energizes us. The community, the support of all the students here is just so awesome,” Belardi said. “Being able to share our joy of basketball and to play in front of so many people that we know and love is just so special, and I think it gives us a leg up on the competition,” Belardi said.

Despite the team’s undefeated NESCAC record, single-elimination play during playoffs will present a new challenge.

“I think once [NESCACS end and] NCAAs start again, [Head] Coach [Megan Phelps ’15] does a really good job of reminding us that we’re 0–0,” Belardi said. “It’s a fresh start. We haven’t proved anything and need to go into each game like it’s our last and play our hearts out.”

While the team has to earn each game from here on out, Storey believes it is equipped to succeed.

“We have a lot of weapons. I think if teams try to take away one thing from us, like our post play or our three-point shooting, we can look to score the ball in other ways,” Storey said. “We play really good defense and are able to hold teams under their average point total, and it’s something we fall back on when offense isn’t coming as well.”

The Polar Bears will face eighth-seeded Tufts University (13–11; 4–6 NESCAC) in the NESCAC quarterfinals tomorrow in Morrell Gymnasium at 2 p.m.