#1-Ranked Bowdoin Defeats Norwich, 46-31, in Holiday Inn/Naismith Women's Basketball Classic Championship; Union Defeats SC, 73-59, in the Consolation
Union-SC Box Score/Play-by-PlayBowdoin-Norwich Box Score/Play-by-Play
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – January 3, 2007 – In a battle of unbeatens, it was Bowdoin College, the nation’s #1-ranked team, defeating Norwich University, 46-31, tonight in the championship game on the women’s side of the Holiday Inn/Naismith Classic at Springfield College’s Blake Arena.
With the win, Bowdoin of Brunswick, Me. is now 10-0, while Norwich of Northfield, Vt. suffers its first loss and is 10-1.
In the consolation game much earlier, Union College of Schenectady, N.Y. defeated host Springfield College, 73-59. With the win, Union upped its record to 3-5, while Springfield fell to 4-6.
Senior forward Eileen Flaherty of Bowdoin was named the Tournament MVP. Others on the All-Tourney Team included Bowdoin sophomore forward Jill Anelauskas, Norwich junior forward Caitlin Bailey, Norwich senior guard Kristi Powlovich, Union senior forward Krystal Hammond, and Springfield junior guard Christine Cotter.
In the championship game, both teams struggled in the first half, Bowdoin leading at that juncture by a score of just 13-11.
When Bowdoin’s Flaherty (Fairfield, Conn.) made two free throws with 16:52 left in the half, the score was tied at 5-5. Over the course of the next 13 minutes and 20 seconds, Bowdoin outscored Norwich only by a score of 4-2. When Anelauskas (Medfield, Mass.) made a lay-up with 3:31 left in the half, Bowdoin led 11-7. Defense was at a premium in that first half. Norwich was shooting .185 from the floor (5-of-27), while Bowdoin was shooting just .152 (5-of-33).
Bowdoin never lost the lead in the second half, building a 10-point lead with 8:59 remaining (30-20) on a jumper by junior guard Merisa Berne (Falmouth, Me.). Norwich made it very interesting with 5:20 left, cutting the lead to three (32-29) on a jumper by freshman guard Ally Daniels (Concord, N.H.). From there, Bowdoin outscored the Cadets, 14-2, during the remainder of the game.
For Bowdoin, Anelauskas led with 11 points. She added eight rebounds. She was followed by Flaherty with 10 points and 7 rebounds. For Norwich, no one scored in double figures. The leader for the Cadets was Daniels with eight. Powlevich (Jericho, Vt.) and sophomore guard Monica Selander (Caribou, Me.) each added six. Senior forward Sarah Chap (Stockbridge, Vt.) led both teams with 16 rebounds.
Bowdoin outrebounded Norwich, 49-40. Norwich wound up shooting .275 (14-of-51), while Bowdoin shot .226 (14-of-62). Bowdoin forced 20 Norwich turnovers, while committing only 15.
In game #1 of the day, for the Dutchwomen of Union College, senior forward Krystal Hammond (Clifton Park, N.Y.) topped her squad with an 18-point outburst. She also had seven rebounds, shooting 6-of-10 from the field, and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Behind her was sophomore guard Maria Tobin (Schenectady, N.Y.) with 11 points, and sophomore forward Michelle Rogers (Clarence, N.Y.) with 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Springfield had four players score in double figures, including junior guard Christine Cotter (Stoughton, Mass.) with 17. Cotter also had a team-high six assists. Other double-figure scorers for the Pride included junior guard Tara McCarthy (Bristol, R.I.) with 14 points, sophomore forward Corey Finch (Hanover, Pa.) with 12 points (and six rebounds), and sophomore center Lauren O’Connor (Valhalla, N.Y.) with 10 points (and seven rebounds).
Union shot .500 from the field in the second half (14-of-28), outscoring SC 41-27 in that half. SC had jumped out to leads of 8-2 and 12-6, the latter with 13:21 left in the first half. But those were the high points for the Pride. Union had led by as many as four points (22-18 and 28-24) in that same stanza. It was 32-all at the half.
In the second half, SC took a quick five-point advantage (39-34) on a steal and lay-up by Cotter with 17:05 left. But Union then scored the next nine points to turn the whole game around. When O’Connor made a hoop with 5:13 left, SC had cut Union’s lead to four (57-53), and it was still very much a game.
But the Dutchwomen then took total command, ending the game with a 16-6 surge. Union’s largest lead was 73-56 with 1:17 left on a jumper by junior forward Devon Ciliberto (New Paltz, N.Y.).
Team Links
- 2009-2010 Schedule
- 2009-2010 Roster
- 2009-2010 Statistics
- 2009-2010 JV Schedule
- Photo Gallery
- Live Stats
- Alumni Questionnaire
- NEWMACsports.com
- D3hoops.com
- Team Archives
Head Coach Naomi Graves
Entering her 19th season as head coach in 2009-10, Naomi Graves has directed her squads to an impressive 266-117 record (.695 winning percentage) since joining the Division III ranks in 1995. Graves has led the Pride to eleven post-season bids in the past 14 years, including five berths in the NCAA Division III Tournament in the past nine years.
Read more.