BRUNSWICK, Maine — The No. 14 Bates women's basketball team saw its seven-game winning streak come to an end Friday night, falling 62–49 at No. 8 Bowdoin in Morrell Gymnasium. The Polar Bears completed a regular-season sweep of the Bobcats, handing Bates its second loss of the year. Both defeats have come against Bowdoin.
Bates (13-2, 2-1 NESCAC) opened the night by jumping out to a 13–4 lead at 4:39 of the first quarter.
Sarah Hughes (Jr.) set the tone early, scoring 10 of her team-high 15 points in the opening period, including a pair of three-pointers.
Bowdoin (13-1, 3-0 NESCAC) closed the quarter on a 6–0 run, trimming the margin to 13–10 after the first 15:00, and then flipped the game in the second quarter. The Polar Bears opened the period with a 6–0 spurt to take a 16–13 lead 3:34 in. Bates went cold offensively, managing just five points in the frame on 2-of-15 shooting, accounting for the squad's fewest points in a regulation period this season.
After
Sophie Spolter (Sr.) briefly pulled Bates within one at 16–15 with a jumper (5:53), Bowdoin responded with back-to-back three-pointers from Carly Davey and Payton Collins to take a 22–15 advantage with 3:52 left before the break.
The Polar Bears took control coming out of the locker room, opening the third quarter with a 12-6 surge to push the lead to 12 points (36-24) with 4:37 remaining. Bowdoin's surplus increased to 45-28 after the home team closed the frame on a 7-0 spurt.
Bates showed fight in the fourth, outscoring Bowdoin 21–17 in the final 10 minutes.
Lily Brown (So.) sparked the Bobcats off the bench, scoring all eight of her points in the fourth quarter, including two triples. Hughes added five more points in the period. Trailing 62-41 with only 3:08 left in regulation, the visitors never quit as the Bobcats fired off an 8-0 run to end the contest.
Elsa Daulerio (Sr.) followed Hughes with 13 points and five blocks for the garnet and white as the teammates topped Bates with seven boards apiece.
Bowdoin was led by a pair of 21-point performances from Davey and Abbie Quinn.
The Bobcats will look to bounce back this Sunday when they host Colby College at 1:00 p.m. in Alumni Gym. Bates defeated the then #19-ranked Mules in Waterville, Maine, 61-50, back on Dec. 2 in what was the non-conference portion of the teams' annual home-and-home.
