Courtesy Bowdoin Sports Information

Box Score

BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Bowdoin College women's basketball team won their fifth straight NESCAC Championship on Sunday afternoon, defeating Bates College 65-59. The Polar Bears (24-2) receive the NESCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Bates (24-2) will hope for an at-large bid when pairings are announced on Sunday night.

The Bobcat defense took control of the game early on, as the Polar Bears struggled to get off a shot on their first few possessions. A pair of shot clock violations in the opening minutes and cold outside shooting saw Bowdoin trail Bates 8-2 after four minutes. The Bobcats extended their lead to 13 points later in the half, as a three-pointer from Sarah Barton gave Bates a 21-8 edge. Bowdoin missed their first 10 three-pointers, but managed to chip away at the Bates lead late in the half as an spinning lay-in from Justine Pouravelis and a three-pointer from Marisa Berne cut the Bobcat lead to 26-20 at intermission.

After halftime, the game settled into a back-and-forth battle of heavyweights, as nearly every Bowdoin run was answered by a spurt from Bates. The Polar Bears cut the Bobcat advantage to a single point twice in the opening minutes of the second stanza and tied the contest for the first time with 13:55 left when Berne took a feed from Erika Nickerson and hit a turnaround jumper to even the score at 38 apiece. A hoop-and-harm from Olivia Zurek moments later regained the lead for Bates, 41-38 at 12:12.

Pouravelis answered for Bowdoin, tying the game again with a basket and converted free-throw at 10:38. On the next possession, Sarah Barton hit a three-pointer for Bates, but Katie Cummings hit a clutch trifecta for Bowdoin to deadlock the game again at 44. Zurek answered with an off-balance jumper to give Bates the lead, 46-44 at 9:30, and Bowdoin replied with a pair of Vanessa Russell free-throws to tie the score at
46 with 8:30 to go.

After Meg Coffin connected on a turnaround layup for Bates, Julia Loonin found Marisa Berne, who buried a go-ahead three-pointer to give the Polar Bears their first lead of the game, 49-48, with 6:45 to go. Zurek refused to let Bates go away, coming across the lane and hitting a jumper while being fouled to give her squad the lead again with 5:40 left, 51-49.

Julia Loonin hit a three-pointer on the next Bowdoin offensive set, regaining a one-point edge for the hosts. After Coffin missed a jumper, Erika Nickerson hit a lay-in to give the Polar Bears a three-point lead with four minutes on the clock. Sarah Barton hit a jumper to cut the lead to one, but Pouravelis answered with a spinning layup as Bowdoin led 56-53 with three minutes remaining.

The two squads continued to answer every call, as a Leah Schouten three-pointer for Bates tied the game at 56 with 2:40 left. Berne, who connected on five three-pointers, hit another with just under two minutes left to regain the lead for Bowdoin, but Betsy Hochadel hit a baseline three to tie the game for the sixth and final time- at 59 with 1:30 to go.

Bates forced a tie-up on the next Bowdoin possession, giving the Bobcats a chance to take the lead with under a minute to play. Zurek drove into the lane and looked to find an outside shooter, but Pouravelis picked off the pass and headed the other direction, feeding Eileen Flaherty for a layup and two-point Bowdoin edge, 61-59 with 36 seconds left. A inside shot from Coffin rimmed out for Bates on their next trip down the court, and Flaherty iced the game with a pair of free throws with 13 ticks left. Marisa Berne hit two more free throws with two seconds left to give Bowdoin the final 65-59 decision.

The victory marks the 54th consecutive victory for Bowdoin in Morrell Gymnasium and the third straight year Bowdoin has beaten Bates for the conference crown. Berne, who had 21 on the night, also posted 17 earlier this season in Bowdoin's regular season win against Bates.

Pouravelis capped an outstanding weekend, connecting on 7-of-8 shots and finishing with 16 points, eight boards, three blocks and three steals.

For the weekend, the junior from Old Orchard Beach hit 17 of 19 shots and grabbed 20 rebounds. Eileen Flaherty added 10 points for the hosts, who will likely earn the top seed in the NCAA's Northeast region with the win.

Bates was led by 18 from Zurek, who also had eight boards. Barton had 16 points, while Coffin had 10 points and 12 boards. Both Bobcat losses this season have come at the hands of Bowdoin.

2005 NESCAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Saturday, Feb. 19 at Higher Seeds
at No. 1 Bowdoin 59, No. 8 Trinity 45
at No. 2 Bates 61, No. 7 Tufts 37
at No. 3 Williams 81, No. 6 Middlebury 44
No. 5 Amherst 55, at No. 4 Wesleyan 53

Semifinals - Saturday, Feb. 26 at Bowdoin
at No. 1 Bowdoin 60, No. 5 Amherst 48
No. 2 Bates 62, vs. No. 3 Williams 59

Championship - Sunday, Feb 27 at Bowdoin
at No. 1 Bowdoin 65, No. 2 Bates 59