The Bowdoin Women's Basketball Team hopes to earn a seventh straight NESCAC championship trophy on Sunday, but will face tough competition for its seven-peat bid.
Bowdoin (24-1, 9-0 NESCAC) is the top-ranked team in the conference tournament and will hold this weekend's three games. On Saturday, the Polar Bears will look to get things started off right when they play host to fourth-seeded Williams.
Bowdoin defeated Williams 68-58 on January 12 in Brunswick.
The Polar Bears will focus on their defense in preparation for Saturday's semifinal matchup.
"Williams has a good post game so we will need to focus on keying our defense in down low," said senior tri-captain Eileen Flaherty. "They also have adept scorers at the guard positions, so all-around defense will really be the essential element."
The Ephs come into the conference tournament red-hot after winning nine of their last 11 games. Their senior-laden lineup boasts two of the top-10 scorers in the league in Maggie Miller and Meghan Stetson. In addition, Meghan O'Malley is third on the team in scoring, while also averaging 8.8 rebounds, good for second in the league.
"Williams has three seniors averaging double figures so first off we have to do a good job on them," Head Coach Stefanie Pemper said. "Like all teams, they have others who can score too, so a lot goes into every possession. I'm not sure fans realize what a mental and physical grind it is to have a great defensive effort against a talented team."
The Polar Bears played well defensively and offensively in their first-round 61-50 win over Trinity on Saturday. Flaherty chipped in a game-high 19 points, four rebounds, and two blocks, and senior tri-captain Julia Loonin scored 12 points. The Polar Bears also forced 20 Bantam turnovers.
"We played well defensively [against Trinity]," Pemper said. "We got our hands on a lot of balls and forced turnovers, and we didn't allow many offensive rebounds. Jill Anelauskas especially rebounded the ball well. Offensively, we had a balanced attack and made big shots when we needed to. Julia Loonin had a strong game overall, which was great to see."
Bowdoin will play Williams at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The second semifinal, second-seeded Tufts against third-seeded Bates, will be at 4 p.m. The winners will play on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Morrell Gym for the NESCAC conference championship.
Even with tough competition, the Polar Bears feel confident they can take home the crown.
"We know it'll take two great days of basketball to win NESCACs," Pemper said. "Physically we have the tools [to win], and if our heads and hearts are in the right place I like our chances. When we play with good collective emotion we're pretty tough."