The women's basketball team advanced to the semifinals Saturday with an exciting overtime victory over the Tufts Jumbos, 65-54. With the score tied at 50 at the end of the second half, the Polar Bears entered overtime with a high level intensity, giving them the 15-4 point advantage that paved the way to their win.
Bowdoin will face the Colby Mules (22-3) on Saturday afternoon at Amherst in the semifinal round of the NESCAC tournament.
"Everyone played well at Tufts, but it was certainly the seniors who led the way," said Head Coach Adrienne Shibles. "Caitlin Hynes, Sabrina Cote, and Leah Rubega had great games and made some big plays down the stretch."
The matchup was a close one from the first minutes of play. The fifth-seeded Polar Bears outscored the fourth-seeded Jumbos 34-27 in the first half and increased the lead to nine points early in the second half.
However, no team would maintain an advantage for long after the intermission. On two occasions, Tufts managed to gain a two-point lead off of free throws.
Down by two points with 56 seconds left on the clock, Amy Hackett '12 sank the layup that tied the game at 50.
The Jumbos had an opportunity to take the lead in the final seconds of regulation play with a three-point attempt and a follow-up scoop shot off of the rebound, but they failed to connect and Rubega came down with a big rebound that forced the game into overtime.
"Everyone knew right from the outset that we were going to win that game," said Cote, "and there did not exist an ounce of doubt in anyone's mind that we would be successful."
The Polar Bears easily commanded play in overtime, outscoring and out-rebounding their opponents.
Top scorers for Bowdoin were Hynes with 24 points and Cote with 11 points. Rubega banked nine points and an impressive 12 rebounds and Katie Bergeron '11 finished with six points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Cote praised the play of Hynes following Saturday's game.
"Caitlin Hynes came up big in the game against Tufts," she said.
"She not only led the team in scoring, but also brought an energy and confidence to the court that really carried our team...True senior leadership at its finest," Cote added.
The Polar Bears will travel to Amherst, the No. 1 seed of the tournament, this Saturday to face Colby in the semifinals. The team has already faced the Mules twice this season.
Bowdoin won the first game in early December and fell to Colby the second time in January by eight points.
"We are excited about the opportunity to see Colby again," said Shibles. "We will need to focus on getting out to their shooters and keeping them off the boards."