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Volume CXXXIII, Number 16 |
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Basketball retains top spot, gets national press
BETH KOWITT
ORIENT STAFF
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| Senior Lindsay Bramwell drives past a Colby defender. The Bears are still undefeated and ranked number one in the country. (Courtesy of Alex Cornell du Houx) |
An article in the Orient is now only small press for the Bowdoin Women's Basketball Team after a feature ran in The New York Times recently. "Basketball Isn't Only Stage on Which Bowdoin Excels" ran on Friday, February 21.
However, Head Coach Stefanie Pemper is the last person to let it go to her head. "The New York Times article and the piece in Bowdoin Magazine are wonderful, but they're sort of 'bigger' than us," she said. "To me they applaud Bowdoin, NESCAC, Division III, and slightly unconventional leadership styles; all things worthy of press in our society."
But with a 24-0 record, the top seed in the NESCAC tournament, the number one ranking in the nation, the nation's longest home-game winning streak, a win over Colby on Saturday for the second week in a row, and a first-round playoff win, the team is the epitome of newsworthy.
"As for the press, we don't really pay much attention to it," said senior captain Courtney Trotta. "It can be a dangerous thing, and if that is what you are playing for, then your priorities are probably out of whack."
More important to Trotta is the support the women receive from the College and community. "I think that it is cooler that so many people on campus and in the community are supporting us than us getting write-ups," she said.
Saturday's win was almost a repeat of the matchup the week before. Bowdoin took control early, dominating 8-0 three minutes in, and building on the lead for the remainder of the game.
"I think we had a lot of confidence going into the Colby game because we had played them the week before," Trotta said. "We were really familiar with what they were going to try to do and who they were going to look to, and everyone did a great job of taking away their tendencies."
Midway through the half, the Polar Bears led 27-6 and had 43 to the Mules' 15 at halftime. The women shot a 43.5 field goal percentage during the first period and hit eight out of nine free throws. Defense was sharp as usual and held Colby to an 18 percent shooting percentage during the first half.
"The key to the win was consistency and everyone contributing," said Trotta. "Everyone saw time but, more importantly, found ways to impact the game, which is awesome in a NESCAC tournament game."
The Polar Bears kept up the rhythm in the second half, shooting 34.8 percent and racking up another 25 points to finish the game at 68-37.
Senior captain Lora Trenkle, Eileen Flaherty '07, and Erika Nickerson '05 led the team with 14 points each. Alison Smith '05 also hit double digits with ten. Bowdoin was also strong on the boards, led by sophomore Justine Pouravelis's eight rebounds and Nickerson's seven.
"We're seeing the floor well, having a good mix of unselfish play, and people are taking their shots when they're there," said Pemper.
Next up for Bowdoin are the Ephs from Williams. They play tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. Williams has proven to be one of Bowdoin's tougher opponents after an overtime win earlier in the season.
"Our mindset going into our semi-final matchup with Williams is 'let's play the best we can play on both ends of the floor,'" Pemper said. "Let's be determined to play tough, work together, communicate well, and get the job done. We'll face different forms of adversity and will want to respond with determination."
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