Last Sunday, the women’s basketball team traveled to Vermont to play Middlebury (11-11 overall, 3-5 NESCAC), coming home with a 53-43 victory. The win improved the Polar Bears’ season record to 20-2 (8-0 NESCAC), stretched their winning streak to 17 games and improved their ranking to No. 18 nationally while maintaining their standing atop the NESCAC.
During the team’s Saturday practice before leaving for Middlebury, senior captain Megan Phelps suffered a broken ankle and was taken to the hospital. Losing a starting senior was a huge shock for the team.
“With Megan’s injury happening just hours, minutes before our departure, I think our entire team was a little bit rattled,” said Head Coach Adrienne Shibles. “I think that showed in our start in the first half.”
The Polar Bears battled the Panthers, who are now coached by former Bowdoin assistant coach Kelly “KJ” Krasco, through a tough first half. At one point Bowdoin fell behind 10-5, but a three-point jump shot from Marle Curle ’17 tightened up the score. Matching each other shot for shot, the teams battled each other for the lead until the half closed with the score tied at 24.
Beginning the second half with the game close motivated the team to come out stronger. The half began with a layup from Curle that kicked off a 10-2 run and gave Bowdoin a lead that lasted the rest of the game. Although the game ended with the Polar Bears ahead by 10, at one point the lead climbed to 18 points.
“I like the way the team responded in the second half,” Shibles said. “I think we showed some resilience. I think the biggest change was that we upped the intensity of our defense. I think that that led to a lot of steals and transition points for us on the offensive end.”
While Bowdoin’s defensive performance was strong in the first half, the team executed better and was even more effective in the second. Kate Kerrigan ’18 dominated both defensively and offensively, contributing 11 points and six rebounds while racking up nine steals.
“We had to pick up the defensive intensity,” said Curle. “We just played better from there on out. Kate Kerrigan also had nine steals, so she was just everywhere on the floor.”
Brady blazed through the second half, scoring 12 of her 14 total game points, as well as getting seven rebounds. Meanwhile, Bowdoin’s bench surpassed Middlebury’s 19-10, thanks to 10 points scored by Ally Silfen ’17. Although Bowdoin’s 38.7 field goal accuracy percentage fell just behind Middlebury’s 40.5 percent, the Polar Bears held a 34-30 advantage in rebounds as well as a 28-16 lead on points in the paint.
Looking forward, the Polar Bears will prepare to play at Bates on Friday at 7 p.m. and at Tufts on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Shibles said these upcoming games will present very different challenges for the team.
Tufts marks Bowdoin’s final game of the regular season, as well as a contest for the top seed in the conference. Tufts and Bowdoin are currently tied for first place in the league as the only two undefeated teams in the NESCAC. Tufts has only lost one game the entire season.
Regardless of the result, Bowdoin is guaranteed either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed for the NESCAC Tournament.