Since the tournament's inception in 2001, Bowdoin (23-1, 9-0 NESCAC) is the only team to have won the NESCAC Women's Basketball Tournament.
Saturday, at 3 p.m. against Trinity, the Polar Bears look to take the first step in garnering their seventh straight conference title.
After beating Tufts last Friday in Brunswick, 60-41, the Polar Bears assured themselves the No. 1 seed in the NESCAC tournament, which begins this weekend. Bowdoin also beat rival Bates on Saturday, 78-47.
"The weekend was great," senior captain Eileen Flaherty said. "It was such a good feeling to get two important wins against some of the top NESCAC competitors."
Tufts (16-7, 8-1 NESCAC) had previously been unbeaten in the conference. The key to the Bowdoin win was tough defense: The Bears held Tufts to an abysmal 23 percent field goal shooting mark and had nine steals, while allowing only one Jumbo to score in double digits. Flaherty led all scorers with 13 points and became the first Polar Bear to ever score 1,700 career points.
The Polar Bears also notched another quality win the next day, beating the Bobcats on Senior Day in Brunswick. Sophomore Jill Anelauskas led all scorers with 16 points and Flaherty added 15. Bowdoin out-rebounded the Bobcats by an impressive 46-36 margin.
"We played with a lot of confidence and determination last weekend," said Head Coach Stefanie Pemper. "It was a great way to honor our seniors for sure."
"Senior Day was really great but at the same time it was kind of sad," Flaherty said. "We will hopefully still have some more games to play in Morrell this season, but at the same time it was an emotional day just knowing that it's one of your last times playing on your home floor."
The Polar Bears are currently ranked in the top spot in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division III national poll and are ranked first on D3hoops.com, taking over the spot Messiah College, which lost this weekend, previously held. But rankings mean nothing come playoff time, and the team is focusing on advancing in the NESCAC conference tournament.
"Being the top seed is wonderful but it won't win us a game," Pemper said. "What it allows is for us to be in our community, with our fans, and playing in a gym that we love to play in. We know that winning the title will take our best, and a little luck, and there's no better feeling than giving our best in front of a community that supports us as well as Brunswick and Bowdoin."
Trinity (12-11, 3-6) will travel to Brunswick looking for an upset on Saturday, but the Polar Bears will be tough competition.
"We'll have to step up our defense against Trinity and be ready to fend off a scrappy team that will be hungry to keep their season alive," said Flaherty. "We're confident in our abilities though, and by the end of practice this week we'll definitely be prepared."