Tufts Makes First-Ever Appearance in Semifinals

HADLEY, Mass. - Bowdoin College, the six-time defending NESCAC Women's Basketball Champions, will look to have the opportunity to hoist a seventh NESCAC trophy this weekend when the Polar Bears host the 2007 NESCAC Women's Basketball Championship at Morrell Gymnasium in Brunswick, Maine. The semifinals begin on Saturday, Feb. 24 with top-seeded Bowdoin taking on fourth-seeded Williams at 2:00 p.m., followed by second-seeded Tufts clashing with third-seeded Bates at 4:00 p.m. The 2007 NESCAC Women's Basketball Championship concludes on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 1:00 p.m. Tickets for Saturday's semifinals and Sunday's championship are $5 for adults and $2 for children and students.

Bowdoin (24-1, 9-0 NESCAC) locked up the number-one seed during the final weekend of the regular season, as the Polar Bears won the battle of undefeated teams in conference play on Feb. 9 with a 60-41 victory over Tufts in Brunswick. The Polar Bears, the only team to ever win the NESCAC Women's Basketball Championship, finished the conference slate with a perfect 9-0 record for the fourth time in five years. Bowdoin's only loss during the regular season occurred on Jan. 17 at home against Maine Maritime on a three-point buzzer-beater, ending the longest home court winning streaks in New England collegiate basketball history. The loss may become a mere footnote in another stellar season for the Polar Bears, who won their way into the semifinals this weekend for the seventh year in a row with a 61-50 decision over Trinity on Feb. 17. Against NESCAC foes this season, Bowdoin out-scored opponents by an impressive 24.1 points per game, almost a full 20 points better than the next team in the conference. The Polar Bears lead the league in an abundance of statistical categories this season both in conference play and overall, including scoring offense and defense, field goal percent defense, and rebounding margin. Forward Eileen Flaherty (Fairfield, Conn.) is currently in the midst of a stellar senior season at Bowdoin. A three-time NESCAC All-Conference First Team selection and the 2004 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, Flaherty leads the league in scoring with an average 18.0 points per game and recently became the Polar Bears' career scoring leader. Flaherty has also contributed a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game. Sophomore forward Jill Anelauskas (Medfield, Mass.) follows Flaherty on the Bowdoin stat sheet, averaging 12.2 points and 6.1 rebounds so far this season. The duo, which has started all 25 games, has combined to lead the Polar Bears in scoring during every game this year.

Fourth-seeded Williams (20-5, 6-3 NESCAC) will take on Bowdoin in the semifinals for the fourth time in tournament history, after the two teams met in the semifinals for three straight years beginning in 2002. Winners of three-straight games and nine of their last 11 outings, the Ephs come into the weekend on the heels of a 63-53 victory over Wesleyan in the quarterfinals. Saturday's contest will mark the third time that Williams has traveled to Maine this season, as the Ephs split a weekend series with Bowdoin and Colby to start the NESCAC schedule on Jan. 12 and 13 and fell at Bates on Feb. 2. The first meeting between Bowdoin and Williams went to the host Polar Bears on Jan. 12, 68-58. The Polar Bears hold a slim 11-10 all-time advantage over the Ephs in the series between the two schools, as Williams won the first 10 meetings from 1978 to 2000 before Bowdoin broke through in 2001 to win the last 11 games, including the three previous semifinal meetings. Against NESCAC foes this season, Williams has scored an average 60.4 points to rank third among conference teams, while only allowing 53.9 points to place fourth defensively. The senior tandem of Maggie Miller (Wellesley, Mass.), Meghan Stetson (Clinton, N.Y.) and Meghan O'Malley (Topsfield, Mass.) has been leading the way this season for the Ephs, with each player starting all 25 games so far. Miller and Stetson both are among the top 10 scores in the conference this year, as Miller currently holds fourth with 15.9 points per game and Stetson follows closely in sixth with 14.3 points. O'Malley is third among her teammates in scoring with 10.4 points per game and ranks second in the league in rebounds, hauling down a team-best average of 8.8 boards.

The semifinals will be a completely new experience for second-seeded Tufts (17-7, 8-1 NESCAC), as the Jumbos' 65-50 win over Middlebury in the quarterfinals was the first in tournament history in six attempts. Since the start of the conference schedule on Jan. 12, Tufts has won 10 of its last 12 games, jumping out to a 7-0 league mark before finishing with an 8-1 record after falling at Bowdoin during the final weekend of the regular season. Although the loss to the Polar Bears ruined the Jumbos' chances for a perfect conference record, the eight NESCAC wins are a program-best for Tufts, and the Jumbos are two wins shy of tying the school record for wins in a season. Against conference teams this season, Tufts averaged 59.1 points over nine games (6th) and limited NESCAC opponents to 53.3 points (3rd), a margin of 5.8. Overall this season, the Jumbos rank second in field goal percent defense, holding all foes to 34.5-percent shooting over 24 games, and have out-rebounded opponents by an average 4.5 boards per game. Senior guard Valerie Krah (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) leads her team in scoring this season, starting every game and averaging 14.3 points. Junior forward Khalilah Ummah (Litchfield, Maine) has provided valuable minutes off the bench for the Jumbos this year and is second to Krah in scoring with 10.7 points per game, while her 6.9 rebounds per game lead Tufts.

Looking to spoil the Jumbos' first trip to the semifinals will be third-seeded Bates (15-9, 6-3 NESCAC). The Bobcats earned a date with the Jumbos after overcoming Amherst in the quarterfinals last weekend, 63-53. Bates is the only other team besides Bowdoin that has reached the semifinal round each year the tournament has been held, having appeared in the championship game the last four years in a row. The Bobcats had a rocky start to conference play this season, going 1-2 over the first three games, including a 72-64 loss at travel partner Tufts on Jan. 20, before winning five of its last six games to finish the regular season in third place. Statistically against the NESCAC this season, Bates ranks second in offense, scoring on average 65.9 points per game, however the Bobcats are ninth defensively against conference competition, allowing 66.4 points. Sophomore forward Val Beckwith (Woburn, Mass.) leads Bates in scoring this season and is third among all NESCAC players, averaging 17.3 points over 24 starts along with 6.4 rebounds. Junior forward Matia Kostakis (Andover, Mass.) follows Beckwith on the Bobcats' scoring sheet with 13.7 points per game, while her 9.2 boards put her atop the rebounding category across the conference. Junior guard Sarah Barton (Portsmouth, N.H.) ranks among the leaders nationally in assists this season, as her 7.12 average per game leads the NESCAC. Saturday's semifinal meeting will be the third in playoff history between the two squads with the Bobcats winning the previous two meetings, the most recent a 61-37 Bates victory during the quarterfinals of the 2005 tournament.

2007 NESCAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Saturday, February 17 at Higher Seeds
at No. 1 Bowdoin 61, No. 8 Trinity 50
at No. 2 Tufts 65, No. 7 Middlebury 50
at No. 3 Bates 63, No. 6 Amherst 53
at No. 4 Williams 63, No. 5 Wesleyan 53

Semifinals - Saturday, Feb. 24 at Bowdoin
No. 4 Williams at No. 1 Bowdoin - 2:00 p.m.
No. 3 Bates vs. No. 2 Tufts - 4:00 p.m.

Championship - Sunday, Feb. 25 at Bowdoin
Semifinal winners - 12:00 p.m.