The women’s basketball team (11-8 overall, 2-4 NESCAC) had a successful week, defeating rival Colby for the second time this season 83-71 before beating Eastern Connecticut State 61-50. The team hopes to continue gaining momentum as they face off against Middlebury and Williams back-to-back at home this weekend.
Captain Kaitlin Donahoe ’13 scored a career-high 28 points against Colby. Shannon Brady ’16 contributed 16 points, and sophomores Megan Phelps and Sara Binkhorst also put up double digits.
The Polar Bears’ defensive strategy focused on containing Colby’s senior leader, Diana Manduca. Manduca is the only Colby player averaging double-digit points per game this season, and was held to just 15 points. This opened up opportunities for Colby sophomore Brooke Chandor, who averages 7.9 points per game, to score 26 points on the Polar Bears.
“We wanted to make sure we had someone right up on [Manduca] all the time,” said Head Coach Adrienne Shibles. “We made a defensive change early in the game putting Kaitlin on her and she did an awesome job.”
Donahoe was named the NESCAC Player of the Week for her performance against the Mules.
“We definitely look to [Donahoe] every game for her leadership, and she definitely went above and beyond against Colby,” said Binkhorst.
The Polar Bears grabbed the lead midway through the first half, and were able to hold onto it even as the Mules got within six points.
“We’re playing with so much more confidence—getting down by a few points isn’t affecting the team mentally like it did in the beginning of the season,” said Shibles.
Playing on enemy territory in Waterville also challenged the Polar Bears to keep their composure, especially on the free-throw line.
“A lot of their student fans came out and were trying to heckle us a bit, but we responded well,” said Binkhorst.
In both games, the Polar Bears’ offensive strategy was to work the ball inside and exploit their significant height advantage. By forcing extra defenders to aid the post, the Polar Bears have been able to push the ball out to shooters on the perimeter.
On Tuesday, the Polar Bears travelled to face Eastern Connecticut State.
“I knew it was going to be a battle.Their record doesn’t reflect how strong they are,” said Shibles. “They’ve played a lot of great teams very close and just came off a huge emotional win beating Rhode Island College, whom we lost to by a lot early in the season.”
The Polar Bears started off slow but pulled away in the second half as they moved the ball inside more.
“We had a couple of posts come off the bench and give us really good minutes in the second half,” said Shibles. “Anna [Prohl ’14] and Sienna [Mitman ’15] came in and did a great job on their littler posts who were really scrappy and aggressive.”
The Polar Bears have a tough weekend ahead. On Friday they will play Middlebury, a team with comparable size, minimizing the height advantage the Polar Bears have enjoyed the past few games.
“Even though they’re big, they look to shoot a lot of three-pointers. Their biggest player is their best three-point shooter, so we’re going to really have to go and defend them behind the arc,” said Shibles.
On Saturday the Polar Bears face No. 24 ranked Williams. Shibles foresees a challenging game against the nationally ranked team.
“Even though they’re huge, they can all handle the ball,” she said. “They do a lot of one-on-one type basketball.”
The game is senior day for the Polar Bears, who will honor Donahoe, the team’s sole senior.
“I’m hoping our younger players bring a lot of emotion to that game,” said Shibles.
“We want to get it for our senior,” said Binkhorst.
With the eight-team NESCAC playoffs around the corner, this could be a defining weekend for the Polar Bears. Two wins could potentially move Bowdoin from sixth to fourth place in the NESCAC, and two losses could drop the team all the way to the bottom of the conference.
“I’m not worried about the pressure, we’re in a great spot,” said Shibles. “I feel like we’re jelling at just the right time.”