Although this weekend is officially the final weekend of regular season games for NESCAC Women's Basketball, one might call this weekend's games the start of the playoffs, as Bowdoin jockeys for the top seed in the NESCAC playoffs. The Polar Bears return home today after six straight road games for two of their toughest matches of the regular season.
The team is ranked first in the nation according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division III poll and second on D3hoops.com to Messiah College. The team is 21-1 on the season and looking to make some serious noise this postseason.
Tonight Bowdoin will play host to the only other team that can challenge the Polar Bears for the regular-season conference title: Tufts. The two teams are both 7-0 in conference play and a Polar Bear win would ensure home games throughout the conference championship tournament.
The Jumbos feature one of the NESCAC's top forward-guard combinations in senior Valerie Krah and junior Khalilah Ummah.
"Ummah will definitely get a lot of attention from our defense," said Bowdoin Head Coach Stefanie Pemper. "We have to limit her touches, play her tough when she catches, and keep her off the boards."
"Tufts is very good," Pemper added. "They have everything?athleticism, depth, defense, maturity, good coaching, and a strong inside-outside game."
As good as Tufts is, the Polar Bears will look for a win and senior captain Eileen Flaherty is confident in the Polar Bears' abilities.
"Tufts is always a good team, and this year they're even better," she said. "We're just prepared to play our game."
This Saturday, Bowdoin will play host to another tough NESCAC foe, in-state rival Bates. Last week, Bates gave the Polar Bears quite a scare, but Bowdoin managed to eke out a victory on the road, 58-50.
"We always expect Bates to challenge us, so last week wasn't much of a surprise," said Flaherty. "We're definitely excited to play them again this weekend though."
The Bobcats sit at third place in the NESCAC, with a 5-2 conference record, behind Bowdoin and Tufts, which are tied for first.
"We never need extra motivation for Bates," said Pemper. "We expect them to play us tough and we certainly bring our best effort when we face them. It's the best rivalry in the NESCAC; we've played them four consecutive years in the conference final."
In last week's action, the team traveled to Waterville to play rival Colby. Every player Polar Bear in the game scored in the dominating 78-32 road win.
"Any NESCAC win is great for us, especially on the road too," said Flaherty. "At Colby, we came out hard and really set a tone in the beginning of the game that put us in a position to get an impressive win. We've really been practicing great lately and everyone just competes hard every day, which really gives us confidence in games. "