Box Score Recap courtesy of Bowdoin College
BRUNSWICK, ME - The Bowdoin College women's basketball team never trailed after the opening minutes and controlled the contest throughout a convincing 61-43 win over third-ranked Tufts on Saturday afternoon at Morrell Gymnasium.
The Polar Bears improve to 4-2 this season while the Jumbos fall to 3-1. The contest was a rematch of the 2015 NESCAC title game last March, won by Tufts 68-52.
The Jumbos came out firing, building an early 8-0 lead thanks to a pair of Josie Lee lay-ups and baskets from Emma Roberson and Lauren Dillon.
The Polar Bears took over from there, out-scoring the Jumbos 11-2 for the remainder of the opening quarter, and holding a 11-10 advantage after one period. Kate Kerrigan and Marle Curle hit consecutive three-pointers to spark the Bowdoin rally.
Bowdoin would never trail again as they opened the second quarter on a 8-0 surge and scored a season-high 26 points in the second quarter alone. Brady scored as many points as Tufts did in the second period (10) and Lydia Caputi netted a pair of three-pointers to give the hosts a 37-20 lead at intermission.
The Jumbos rebounded in the third quarter as Michela North and Melissa Baptista combined for 13 of their team's 16 points as the visitors trimmed the lead to 46-36 entering the fourth. Tufts could get no closer than ten points, however, as Bowdoin opened the final stanza on a 7-2 run to seal the win.
Brady came two points shy of her career high, totaling 27 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks in a dominating performance inside for the Polar Bears. Kerrigan had nine points while Curle and Abigail Kelly ended with eight apiece for Bowdoin.
Roberson led Tufts with 18 points in the loss. Baptista had eight points and six boards.
Although Bowdoin finished at 39 percent shooting for the game, they did connect on 46 percent from three-point range (7-15) and held Tufts to 31 percent from the field, including 20 percent (3-15) from beyond the arc. Bowdoin also went 14-17 from the free throw line compared to 4-7 for the Jumbos.
This was the non-conference meeting between the teams. The NESCAC game will also be played in Brunswick on January 8.
Bowdoin will return to action on Wednesday evening with a home game against Maine-Farmington. Tufts will host Bridgewater State on Tuesday evening at 7:30 pm.
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