For the Bowdoin women's basketball team, there is no place like the NESCAC championships.
Facing the favored fourth−seeded Jumbos at Cousens Gymnasium, fifth−seeded Bowdoin outscored Tufts 15−4 in the overtime period to claim a 65−54 victory, earning a semifinals berth and putting the Jumbos' season on life support in the process.
In a game that featured 11 ties and seven lead changes, Bowdoin's domination of the overtime period came as a surprise. The Jumbos shot 1−for−8 from the field in the five−minute overtime period, while the Polar Bears jumped ahead quickly and iced the game by shooting 9−for−10 from the free throw line.
"I think that it was a combination of bad breaks and running out of energy," senior tri−captain Vanessa Miller said. "It was a really physical game and really tight. It got tiring. It was a combination of losing steam and a couple balls that didn't go our way. They made the shots that they needed to and we didn't."
Bowdoin senior tri−captain Caitlin Hynes, who led all scorers in the game with 24 points, made six rebounds and three blocks and pulled down two rebounds in the overtime session. Hynes prevented her Tufts counterpart in the paint, senior forward Julia Baily, from doing much of anything in the added time in an effort to extend her own collegiate basketball career.
"I'm a senior, so that was enough motivation for me," Hynes said. "There was nothing that was going to make me lose that game. I felt like we had the momentum going into overtime, and we capitalized on that."
Tufts' best chance at victory came at the end of regulation. After sophomore forward Kate Barnosky missed a 3−point shot and recovered her own offensive rebound with 30 seconds left, the Jumbos were able to hold for a last−second attempt. They turned to junior tri−captain Colleen Hart, the NESCAC's leading scorer.
Hart attempted to drive the lane but was cut off, forcing her to throw up a desperation underhanded scoop shot. The ball rattled out but fell into the hands of Miller, who forced the ball back up towards the hoop; it too bounced out as time expired.
Regulation largely featured a one−on−one battle between Baily and Hynes. Hynes, who tallied 16 points in the first half, helped her team to a 32−27 lead at intermission.
"We prepared really well," Hynes said. "This was the one game we focused on all week. I felt like I knew exactly what moves would work and our guards knew exactly where to put it against their post defense."
Baily responded in the second half, taking complete control of the paint. She came back with six points and 10 rebounds in the latter period while holding Hynes to a single field goal, allowing the Jumbos to edge their way back into the game.
But Tufts could not overcome its own poor shooting both from the field — just 28.1 percent on the game — and from the charity stripe. Hart and sophomore Tiffany Kornegay combined to make only 4−of−26 field goal attempts. They were stymied by a Bowdoin defense that ranks second in the NESCAC in points allowed. However, the Jumbos were their own worst enemy at the line, managing to make less than 60 percent of their free throws.
"We are generally one of the best foul shot shooting teams in the NESCAC," said Miller, whose .824 free throw percentage has helped Tufts rank second in the conference at 74 percent from the line. "Not making our free throws was definitely a big difference maker. Just one of those goes in and it's a win in regulation. It was abnormal, but we have to figure out how to get those shots down the line in big games."
The win fortifies Bowdoin's NCAA tournament hopes. Once sitting as high as No. 4 nationally, the Polar Bears struggled down the stretch, eventually falling completely out of the top 25 by the end of the season. But if the Polar Bears, who improved to 25−1 all−time in the NESCAC championships with the win, advance to the finals, they may look appealing to the selection committee.
Bowdoin will take on the second−seeded Colby Mules next Saturday at Amherst. The Mules are the hottest team in the NESCAC but lack the experience the Polar Bears possess.
"We have played them twice, and we won once and lost once," Hynes said. "It is always exciting to play a rival team. The time we lost to them, I don't feel like we had a great game. Now that we are in our best form, I think we can play a good game against them."
For the Jumbos, who will not be competing in the NESCAC semifinals for the first time since they lost in the first round to Bowdoin in 2006, it will be a long week of waiting leading up to the tournament selection show on Feb. 29. The Jumbos have some high−caliber, non−conference wins, but losing their last two conference games and being knocked out of the NESCACs in the first round will not sit well for the selection committee.
"I think we definitely deserve to be in," Miller said. "We played one of the hardest schedules in the country, we have some great wins, and we play in the toughest league. There is something to be said for playing in that league and coming out as one of the top teams. There are a lot of things that I think are on our side."
