The women's basketball team traveled to Connecticut College to compete against the Camels and Wesleyan last weekend. The Polar Bears returned to Maine victorious, solidifying their spot as the third seed in the NESCAC tournament.
Friday night, the women beat Connecticut College on the Camels' home turf, with a final score of 81-33.
The women quickly jumped to a 22-4 lead, maintaining it throughout the game to cruise to an easy victory.
"The win over Conn. was a total team effort," said coach Adrienne Shibles. "From start to finish, we showed great intensity and executed the game plan perfectly. Captain Katie Bergeron '11 was a key to the strong start, shooting 5-5 from the 3-point line in the first half."
Junior Alexa Barry and first year Allie Piscina also played well for the Polar Bears. Barry and Piscina both scored 11 points, while junior Nicole Coombes scored 10.
Saturday found the Polar Bears in a tense game against Wesleyan that would determine the team's seed for the NESCAC playoffs.
Early in the game, the Cardinals pushed to a 19-6 advantage, but the Polar Bears were behind by only one with a score of 33-32 at halftime.
Jill Henrikson '12 was essential to this rebound, as she connected with all of her shots, scoring 18 points in the first half.
"We had a slow start against Wesleyan," Shibles said, "but Jill did a fantastic job of helping us to battle back to a one point deficit at the half."
After the break, the women opened the half with the desire to win the game, closing and surpassing the gap to leave the game with score of 48-37 with 15 minutes on the clock.
"I was pleased with the adjustments that the team made at halftime of that game," Shibles said, as the women continued to maintain their lead.
The Polar Bears finally had another breakaway with five minutes left in the game to bring the score to 69-45.
The end was then in sight for the Polar Bears, and they did not relinquish. The team finished the game with a 78-51 win.
Henrikson and Bergeron again played well for the Polar Bears, bringing in 21 and 18 points, respectively.
This weekend the Polar Bears will face Bates for the third time this season, on their home turf for the NESCAC quarterfinals.
"We are looking forward to seeing Bates again this weekend," Shibles said. "We are a better team than we were on January 22, and really learned a lot from that loss. It is also wonderful to have another game at home for our seniors, Katie and Colleen."