Courtesy Bowdoin Sports Information

Box Score

BRUNSWICK, Maine - The top-seeded Bowdoin College women's basketball team never trailed in an 85-52 victory over Williams in the quarterfinal round of the NESCAC Women's Basketball Championship on Saturday. The Polar Bears (21-4) will host the semifinals and final next Saturday and Sunday and will play fifth-seeded Trinity at 2:00 p.m. on February 28. The other semifinal game will feature second-seeded Amherst and third-seeded Tufts at 4:00 p.m. Williams ends their season with a record of 8-17.

Bowdoin maintained a single-digit lead for the majority of the first half, and held a seven-point lead with 6:15 remaining in the period. Sparked by a pair of lay-ups by Leah Rubega and five straight points from Maria Noucas, the Polar Bears rolled off a 19-2 run over a six-minute span to take a commanding 44-24 lead with under a minute to play in the frame. A five-point spurt before the break, including a three-pointer by Williams' Jill Greenberg trimmed the Bowdoin lead to 44-27 at the half.

Consecutive three-pointers from Jill Henrikson and Katie Bergeron quickly pushed the lead to 25 points early in the second half and the Polar Bears led by as many as 40 points in the second stanza en route to the 33-point win.

Bowdoin dominated the rebounding battle, holding a 58-34 edge on the boards, including a 28-13 advantage on the offensive glass. Every Polar Bear scored in the contest, led by Henrikson's 15 with five rebounds and four assists. Leah Rubega notched 12 points and seven rebounds while Maria Noucas had 11 points, nine assists and three steals without a single turnover at the point for Bowdoin. Williams was led by 13 points apiece from Chessie Jackson and Greenberg.

Saturday's contest marked the 14th consecutive victory for Bowdoin over Williams dating back to 2001. With the victory, the Polar Bears improve to 28-0 all-time in NCAA and NESCAC Tournament games at Morrell Gymnasium. Ticket information for the NESCAC Championship will be announced next week.