Bowdoin College scored 20 or more points in each of the first three quarters and the Polar Bears posted an 80-51 NESCAC win against the Hamilton College Continentals at Bowdoin's Morrell Gymnasium on Friday night.
Sam Graber '16 paced Hamilton (7-14, 1-6 NESCAC) with 16 points. Graber passed Julie Sheldon '93 and Sydney Fasulo '09 for third place on the program's all-time list with 1,331 career points. Sheldon and Fasulo are tied for fourth place with 1,316 points. Graber is second in the NESCAC in scoring with 17.1 points per game.
Halie Serbent '19 chipped in 12 points for the Continentals on 5 of 6 shooting from the floor, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range. Kendall Rallins '19 handed out four assists and Carly Gruenberg '16 grabbed seven rebounds.
Shannon Brady led the Polar Bears (16-5, 5-2) with 20 points and five boards. Ally Silfen dropped in 15 points off the bench and Lydia Caputi handed out four of Bowdoin's 24 assists. The Polar Bears, who won their fourth game in a row, held a 42-33 advantage on the glass and committed just nine turnovers.
Bowdoin started the first quarter with four missed shots and two turnovers, and the Polar Bears fell behind 7-2 early. Graber sank a jumper, Gruenberg made a layup and -- after two Caputi free throws -- Graber nailed a 3-pointer with 6:24 left.
Bowdoin bolted into the lead with a 12-3 run and didn't trail again. Brady made three baskets in the paint and Marle Curle scored from close range. Graber tied the score at 10-10 with another shot from beyond the arc but Kate Kerrigan put the Polar Bears in the lead for good at 16-10 with a pair of trifectas with 2:16 remaining.
Serbent's layup with five seconds left in the first quarter pulled Hamilton within 20-13. Bowdoin opened the second quarter with eight straight points and the Polar Bears held a double-digit lead for the rest of the night. Bowdoin led 43-23 at the half and 70-31 after three quarters. Serbent and Rallins scored six points apiece in the fourth quarter as the Continentals racked up 20 points in the final 10 minutes.
Hamilton travels to Colby College for another conference game on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 3 p.m.