looking back (Feb. 25) | No. 1 Bowdoin 64, no. 2 Tufts 48
Having won two playoff games for the first time in the program's history, the women's basketball team took on the Bowdoin Polar Bears in the championship round of the NESCAC tournament on Sunday. For the second time in just over two weeks, the Jumbos had the difficult task of squaring off against the nation's No. 1 squad and six-time defending NESCAC champions.
Tufts refused to be intimidated by the Polar Bears' impressive r?©sum?©, and hung with them for three-quarters of the game, even leading 22-21 at the half. But the last quarter of the game may have been a product of Tufts' tiring against a superior opponent, and the squad did not secure the much sought-after happy ending.
Bowdoin ultimately walked away with a respectable 16-point victory over its opponents, but not without having to sweat a few bullets first. The Polar Bears' victory continued their streak of seven-consecutive NESCAC titles - they are the only team to ever win the tournament.
The victory also secured the squad a spot in the NCAA tournament, something it has become accounstomed to over the past several years. While the Jumbos pulled together a gutsy performance against the powerful Bears, they were overlooked by the NCAA selection committee, as the NESCAC's only at-large bid went to No. 4 Williams instead.
Looking Ahead (MARCH 4) | NO. 14 DUKE AT NO. 8 NORTH CAROLINA
Since Feb. 12, when they fell out of the top 25 for the first time since 1996, the Duke Blue Devils have regained their familiar form, winning their next four games to quiet skeptics who believed Duke's NCAA Tournament chances were in jeopardy. The Blue Devils have another chance to prove they have completely overcome their early-season woes this Sunday, when they head down Tobacco Road to take on archrival North Carolina in the regular season finale for both squads.
Currently tied for first in the ACC, the Tar Heels have a chance to sweep the regular season series against Duke for the first time since 1996. On Feb. 7, North Carolina overcame a 10-point second-half deficit and notched a 79-73 win over the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium behind 19 points from freshman forward Brandon Wright. Since that victory, however, the Tar Heels have gone just 3-2, most recently dropping a two-point decision at Maryland on Feb. 25.
North Carolina will have the advantage of a rowdy crowd at the Dean Smith Center, where the Tar Heels are 17-1 this season. Duke, meanwhile, has won its last three games on the road, including 71-66 ACC clash at Clemson on Feb. 22. Last season, the Blue Devils got 35 points from then-senior guard J.J. Redick to defeat the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill 87-83.
