When the dust finally cleared in Brunswick, Maine yesterday, the scene was no different from last year - or the past six for that matter.
Even in a year that boasted more parity than in previous ones, and a season in which the Jumbos posted an historical playoff run, Bowdoin once again claimed the title as its own, proving that the NESCAC is still a one-team show by beating Tufts 64-48 in the championship game yesterday.
But for the first time in three years, the Polar Bears did not face-off against Maine rival Bates, as the Jumbos cruised to a 52-39 victory in the semifinals on Saturday.
Yesterday's competition was not quite so easy to handle, however. Playing against the No. 1 team in the nation, coach Carla Berube's squad stuck with the Polar Bears for most of the game - even leading 22-21 at the half - but Bowdoin pulled away when it mattered most, showing why it is the best team in Div. III.
Neither team came out with its A-game at the start; both looked a little uptight. Defense was ultimately the name of the game on both sides of the floor, as the Jumbos forced Bowdoin into difficult shots, shutting down senior forward and league-leading scorer Eileen Flaherty. But neither team shot well in the first frame, as the Polar Bears combined to 29.6 percent shooting, while Tufts was not much better at 32 percent.
"I don't think we took the best shots that we could have, and we didn't execute our offense the way we should have," Berube said. "Bowdoin played very good defense as well, and we didn't get a lot of second chance opportunities that we got in the first half."
Senior Valerie Krah was the obvious bright spot for the Jumbos on the offensive end, pacing her team with 10 first-half points. Krah hit back-to-back threes in the first half to give the Jumbos a 21-16 lead with 1:48 left, but senior guard Julia Loonin answered with a triple of her own to pull Bowdoin back to within two.
Early in the second half, Krah appeared to injure her hand after her shot was blocked, and was rendered virtually ineffective the rest of the way, adding only three second half points to finish with a total of 13.
The second half saw the tide turn the way of the Polar Bears, as the game unfolded much like the previous day's Bowdoin-Williams contest had gone. In that game, Bowdoin led by one at the break and pulled away with a convincing 66-46 victory.
Yesterday, Bowdoin capitalized on Tufts 19 turnovers, poor free throw shooting - something that has been its Achilles heel all season. The inside play of freshman Leah Rubega, coupled with those weaknesses, keyed a seven-point Bowdoin run that gave the Polar Bears an insurmountable 51-42 edge.
"I think the only difference was around the seven-minute mark, the same threes they had been missing, they hit," senior Laura Jasinski said. "They hit a couple big threes. At that point, they kind of opened things up."
The Polar Bears relied on Rubega's inside play down the stretch, beating Tufts at its own game.
"We had a couple of defensive lapses in a row, where our communication just wasn't working as well in the first half, and they hit open shots," senior guard Taryn Miller-Stevens said. "They put together a run with about eight minutes to go, and we couldn't put it away."
By beating Bates in the second round of the tournament on Saturday, the Jumbos won the right to face the Polar Bears in the championship game. It was a tale of two halves, but the Jumbos managed to come away with the victory.
The game started out well for Tufts, as its aggressive defense flustered the vaunted Bates offense, propelling it to a comfortable 29-9 halftime lead. Bates was looking to push the ball up on the fast break, but the Jumbos forced 11 first-half turnovers and made the Bobcats take tough shots. On offense, the Jumbos were aggressive in taking the ball to the basket and received some considerable contributions off the bench.
Sophomores Kim Moynihan and Stacy Filocco combined for 11 points to help spur the Jumbo offense. Moynihan hit two huge threes and provided aggressive defense, while and Filocco poured in five points.
With the NESCAC Tournament run, the Jumbos have made themselves a strong candidate for a Pool C bid to the NCAA Tournament.
While an automatic bid would have been the easy way in, Berube is still happy with the case her team has made for itself.
"I couldn't be more proud of them," Berube said. "We just grouped together and fought back. We learned some important lessons, we took them into big games in the NESCAC, and we learned how to win down the stretch. It has been a great ride, a fun season, and it is a credit to our seniors and their leadership that we are in a place where we could make it to the NCAA Tournament."
