The women’s basketball team improved to 15-2 overall (3-1 NESCAC) after an exciting 71-65 comeback win over Hamilton (1-3 NESCAC, 7-8 overall) last Saturday. Trailing by 11 with just under six minutes remaining, the Polar Bears mounted a furious rally to force overtime, and then outscored the Continentals 11-5 in OT to seal the victory.
Sara Binkhorst ’15 scored a career high 32 points in the game, 18 of which came in the last six minutes of regulation and overtime. Sophomore Shannon Brady added 14 points and eight rebounds, going 5-10 from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line. Megan Phelps ’15 added 12 points from the bench, marking what was truly a team effort against the Continentals.
With the win, the Polar Bears improved to 3-1 in the NESCAC—tying them for third—and were voted No. 23 in the D3hoops.com top-25 poll. After racing to a 9-0 start in the fall semester, the Polar Bears have gone 6-2 since the start of winter break, losing only at Williams and at Rhode Island College.
One of the highlights of the break was the team’s trip to Florida, where it picked up two nonconference victories over Rivier and Gordon. The trip not only provided competition for the team but also allowed players to bond outside of the gym. Team building activities and various outings allowed them to grow closer, a luxury that the Polar Bears haven’t always had in past seasons.
“There were some great activities,” said Head Coach Adrienne Shibles. “We did some team bonding stuff on the beach in Daytona, we played beach volleyball. It was a great time.”
Once back up north, the Polar Bears earned quality wins over Wesleyan and Connecticut College—two of the bigger wins of the season. Shibles said she considers the Wesleyan win one of the biggest of the season, especially since the Polar Bears dropped a crucial game to the Cardinals last season.
“I thought we played 40 solid minutes of basketball,” she said. “Especially since it was against a team that beat us last year it was nice that we came back and played a very good game against them.”
The Polar Bears 15-2 start is much improved from their 9-8 start last season. Shibles believes that their work ethic is one of the team’s biggest strengths and one of the main reasons for its success.
“The work ethic of the team has been key,” she said. “Every woman on the team embraces her role and works super hard day in day out. I don’t think there’s any team in the league that works as hard as this group—I’m certain of it.”
Another factor has been the team’s depth. Eight players average at least 10 minutes a game and others see quality time as well.
“I can count on every person on the bench to go in and give us quality minutes. Plus, it’s also wonderful in practice to have such a competitive atmosphere,” said Shibles.
Looking forward, six of the final seven games for the Polar Bears will be conference games.
“Every game is critical to finishing strong,” said Shibles, referencing that while the Polar Bears are currently in third in the NESCAC, maintaining that position is crucial.
The top eight teams in the league make the conference playoffs and the top four get to host a first round playoff game, which makes those top four seeds highly coveted.
“Finishing in the top four is pretty essential,” Shibles asserted.
Even though the Polar Bears finished eighth last year and were the first eighth seed to upset the top seed in NESCAC history, playing consistently well enough difficult to finish in the top four is task to pull off.
“You don’t want to put yourself in that position,” Shibles added. “So that’s our goal [to finish in the top four].”