By Mike Lopez
Senior Staff Writer


It was an up and down season for the Bates women’s basketball team, and that’s just how it concluded this past weekend.

In the NESCAC semi-finals the Bobcats came out firing, taking a 26-20 halftime lead en route to a 60-51 over Wesleyan, a team that has beaten them twice during the regular season.

Sunday the team faced the NESCAC and Division III top-ranked team, Bowdoin, for the repeat of last year’s championship game. Last year Bowdoin edged out Bates 70-67 before continuing on to the Sweet Sixteen.

The Bobcats staged a fearless 19-point comeback, capped by junior Betsy Hochadel’s drive in the lane, before falling to the Polar Bears in overtime, 51-47.

Bowdoin (26-0) received an automatic bid and first-round bye in the NCAA tournament with the victory, while the Bobcats finished the season at 19-8.

Saturday’s effort proved the Bobcats would be ready to play with Bowdoin the following day. Down 16-14 early in the first half, the Bobcats rallied to go on a 19-4 run that put the game out of reach.

“Defensively, I thought we did a really outstanding job today,” said Bates coach Jim Murphy. “We really dug in, minimized turnovers, and executed our offense well.”

The swarming defense was evident in the statistics: Bates forced Wesleyan to turn the ball over 20 times and held the Cardinals to just 34 percent from the floor.

Bobcat star Olivia Zurek, who finished the day with 22 points and 10 rebounds, finished the run with a fast break lay-up that gave Bates a 33-20 lead.

Junior guard Heather Taylor netted 10 points and three assists, and rookie Meg Coffin added eight points to go with her six rebounds. Senior captain Lauren Dubois stepped up defensively with four blocked shots.



“They’ve beaten us twice before,” said Zurek. “We ran our offense well and played our best defense of the season, and finally showed Wesleyan our true abilities. This is a great way to go into tomorrow’s game.”

In Brunswick the following day against the Polar Bears, the Bobcats faced a daunting challenge. Most notably, Bowdoin was riding a 40 plus game winning streak in their home gymnasium, had an undefeated record in the four year history of the NESCAC tournament, and had already defeated Bates twice this season.

Based on the first half, it was easy to see why. Bowdoin opened up a slight 14-11 lead before scorching the Bobcats with a 16-0 run to close the last nine minutes of the game. The Polar bears headed to intermission up a seemingly insurmountable 30-11.

“In the first half we were tentative,” said Murphy. “In the second half we came out and attacked, and that’s the way we needed to play against this team.”

And attack they did. The Bobcats opened the second half with a 7-2 run capped by a Dubois three-pointer to make it a 32-18 score. As the Bobcats picked up momentum, the Polar Bears offensive fire dwindled.

Zurek hit a jumper in the lane to cut it to 36-25, and a pair of first-year Jackie Olson free throws made it 36-27.

Zurek cut it to seven with a mid-range jumper, and Bowdoin was forced to call timeout. Hochadel and Zurek added four more quick points, cutting the lead to 36-33. After the teams traded baskets, Zurek, who finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, capped the rally with a minute and half to play, hitting a put back in the lane to make it a 41-40 score.

Bowdoin’s Eileen Flaherty made it a 43-40 lead with a jumper from the base line, but a free throw from Coffin, followed by a Flaherty charging foul on the other end, set the stage for Hochadel’s heroics and a 43-43 scoreboard knot.

“We knew they would have a great second half,” said Bowdoin coach Stephanie Pemper. “We just weren’t expecting that much.”

In overtime, just like regulation, the teams traded control and momentum.

This time it was the Bobcats starting fast, taking a 47-43 lead on a basket from Coffin and a pair of Hochadel free throws. But Bowdoin answered back, chipping away at the lead and taking a 48-47 advantage themselves with 53 seconds remaining. A Lora Trenkle free throw gave the Polar Bears a two point lead, and a pair of Zurek jumpers rimmed out, forcing Bates to foul as time expired. With 2.6 seconds remaining, Trenkle iced the game with two clutch free throws for a four-point Bowdoin advantage.

“The comeback in the second half was phenomenal,” said Murphy. “It really shows the heart, courage, and character of this team.”

Zurek’s 17 points, which included 15 in the second half, led all scorers. She added fives steals and grabbed 13 off the glass en route to her eighth double-double of the season. Hochadel chipped in with nine points and five offensive boards. Trenkle led the Polar Bears with 11 points and nine rebounds, with a deadly 7-8 from the foul line. Flaherty added 10 points including a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe.

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