Two-thirds of the way through its season, the women's basketball team should be proud of its record, but has no time to rest on its laurels.
The Polar Bears stand at 13-3 on the season and have won an astounding 10 of their last 11 games. They have played superb defense throughout that stretch, holding opponents to under 50 points per game, and have gotten key contributions from all over their roster. However, they are about to enter the most important part of the season.
The team's last eight games will all be against NESCAC opponents and will decide the pairings for the NESCAC championships in February. The NESCAC champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Bowdoin started its conference schedule off with a win, mashing rival Colby, 73-49.
The game against Colby was "the best complete game we put together all year and is a great place for us to be in going to the heart of the conference schedule," said senior tri-captain Maria Noucas '09. "It always feels good to beat a rival and there is just something even more special about beating them on their court when it counts as the conference game."
Junior forward Caitlin Hynes led the way for the Polar Bears with a career-high 24 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Hynes played an aggressive game on both offense and defense and shined in the win.
"[Hynes] has stepped up as a very solid force inside for us," Noucas said. "Her potential is never-ending and I think she is going to have a great run in the conference against some great post players."
With a renewed commitment to defense, the Polar Bears have ratcheted up their intensity every game.
"Coach [Shibles] really believes that defense makes the difference in every game and it's an attitude we have really latched onto," said Noucas. "I think we are most successful at our defense when we are aggressive and communicate well."
Over Winter Break, the team posted wins against Maine Maritime, Wheaton, Hamilton, University of Maine-Farmington, Emmanuel, Clark and Colby. They fell just once in that stretch, a 64-59 loss at Bates in a non-conference showdown.
"The biggest thing we took out of that game was a need to play well for a full 40 minutes," Noucas said. "At one point in the second half, we were down 20 and we stormed back and came inches away from winning."
The Polar Bears will face two of their toughest tests this weekend at home. Today, at 7 p.m., they host rival Bates in a matchup of two premier NESCAC teams. Saturday, the team will square off against NESCAC rival Tufts at 2 p.m.
"Bates has great senior leadership and one of the best players in the league in Val Beckwith," said Noucas. "She just gets it done and loves playing Bowdoin. As a team, we need to defend their offenses well and we need to rebound. Bates is a big team and we need to be the aggressors, get some boards, and transition well."