The women's basketball team made a comeback after a tough season, beating both Williams and Middlebury in two home games last weekend.
Friday night's game against Williams was a nail-biter, with a final score of 62-53. The women played well, holding a 12-point lead at intermission and leading 31-19 at halftime. After the half, the Polar Bears expanded their lead to 35-21 with some help from a timely jump shot by senior Colleen Sweeney.
A rally by Williams brought the Ephs back into the contest, and the game remained a tense exchange between the two teams until Williams managed to tie the game at 40-40 with 13 minutes left to play. Over the next three minutes, Bowdoin went on an 8-2 run to gain a slim margin with a 48-42 lead.
During the game, senior captain Katie Bergeron became the 11th Bowdoin senior to reach 1,000 points scored. Additionally, Jill Henrickson '12 brought in 11 points and 8 rebounds for the Polar Bears.
"The team really responded following the loss to Amherst [last weekend]," coach Adrienne Shibles said. "We watched a lot of film and talked about how to move forward."
After a heartening game against the Ephs, the Polar Bears went on to dominate Middlebury in Saturday's game.
"They worked hard in practice and focused lots of energy on offensive execution, rebounding and defensive ball pressure," Shibles said. "I am proud of the improvement we made as a team this week."
Senior captain Amy Hackett led the game with 13 points off the bench, and the Polar Bears maintained a 27-point lead at the break. Bergeron was again on her game, rallying the team with more flawless shooting on Saturday.
"Our seniors, Katie and Colleen, set the example with their intensity and their focus on each game plan," Shibles said. "I am pleased that they performed so well on senior weekend."
"This weekend was a huge weekend for us—two really big wins," Hackett added. "Our team is really starting to come together and right at the right time."
As the regular season draws to a close, with only two games remaining, the women are focusing on maintaining their mental toughness. They will face Connecticut College and Wesleyan to finish the season.
"Every game from here on out is a big game," Hackett said. "It is important that we stay focused on playing our game and that we keep improving and coming together as we enter playoffs."