Defense is the name of the game for the women's basketball team. Bowdoin's suffocating defense led to a nine-point road win over Colby-Sawyer on Thursday.
The Polar Bears shut down the Chargers with a whopping 17 steals and five blocks in the 54-45 win. Senior tri-captain Maria Noucas scored a season-high 16 points and junior forward Leah Rubega had 10 points and 10 rebounds in her third straight double-double.
"It is really great to go into Winter Break on a high note," Noucas said. "We played so well defensively tonight, and Leah Rubega and Caitlin Hynes played good, aggressive basketball. We had great confidence in the second half, and that really sparked us."
Bowdoin held a one point halftime lead, but outscored the Chargers 31-23 in the second half. Bowdoin improves to 6-2 on the season, but has fallen out of the national Top 25 poll.
Once again sparked by their stifling defense, the Polar Bears beat Husson on the road, 77-59, on Tuesday. Bowdoin forced 24 turnovers in the contest and controlled the entire game by dominating the boards.
"It was a good, solid team effort," said Maria Noucas '09. "We weren't shooting well at first and couldn't hit a three, but our defense really carried us."
First year guard Ellery Gould exploded off of the bench to lead Bowdoin in scoring with 20 points. Gould also notched three rebounds and four steals in the win. Junior forward Leah Rubega continued to play well for the Polar Bears, notching a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while also chipping in two blocks.
Gould "played a great game," said Noucas. "She's really latched onto our defensive mentality and is a really good athlete with great instincts. She was really confident from everywhere on the court and was a huge spark plug off of the bench."
Bowdoin also relied on strong play from underclassmen to beat rival Colby 71-61 at home on Saturday. First year Jill Henrikson scored a career-high 21 points in the win to lead the Polar Bears to victory.
The rookie class is comprised of "such hard workers," according to senior tri-captain Jill Anelauskas.
"I'm not surprised that they're contributing so much," she added. "We have high expectations and they're living up to them."
The win against Colby did not count in conference standings but provided a tough early-season test for the Polar Bear squad. Bowdoin clung to a slim 30-28 at halftime, but finished with a strong 13-2 run to secure the win.
"We're definitely fired up when we play any NESCAC opponent," Anelauskas said. "In the past, Colby has been one of the weaker teams in the conference but this year they have some good talent. It was nice to beat a tougher Colby team this year."
This year's Bowdoin team prides itself on an active defense that creates turnovers to generate offense.
"We have a deep team so we can really go hard on the defensive end for the entire game, which is a challenge for a lot of teams to deal with," said senior tri-captain Alexa Kaubris.