The capacity crowd at Morrell Gynmasium got its money's worth as No. 1 Tufts battled past No. 2 Bowdoin on Friday night. Photo courtesy of Brian Beard, Creative Images

No. 1 Tufts defeated No. 2 Bowdoin 97-88 in a battle of undefeated NESCAC powerhouses in front of a packed Morell Gymnasium on Friday night, seizing control of a conference race whose winner has traditionally hosted multiple rounds in the NCAA Tournament.

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Both teams came out firing in the first period. Bowdoin hit four of its first five shots and shot 10 for 13 overall with four 3-pointers in the first quarter. Tufts matched that performance with 10-for-13 shooting and four 3s of its own. The lone free throw of the first quarter gave the Polar Bears a narrow 25-24 advantage at the end of one period. Box score

The teams matched baskets again throughout the second period until Tufts pulled in front 51-45 on Sofia Rosa’s three and Emily Briggs’ jumper in the closing minute of the first half. Dorian Cohen’s layup trimmed the Jumbos' lead to 51-47 at the break.

The Jumbos stayed hot in the second half, scoring on five straight possessions in the third quarter to open a 64-57 advantage. Bowdoin looked like it finally stopped the Tufts run when Jumbos guard Molly Ryan had a rare miss from three, but Rosa grabbed the offensive rebound and found Ryan who connected for another of her five 3-pointers.

Bowdoin responded with a 9-3 run capped by a layup and three-pointer from Ali Meade. Cohen’s layup with 2:26 to play in the third quarter put Bowdoin ahead 70-69 and chased Tufts into a timeout. The Jumbos regrouped and fed the ball to Angela Alibrandi who was fouled and converted two free throws to put Tufts back in front, 71-70, in what was the last lead change of the night.

After Tufts extended its lead to 77-70 midway through the fourth quarter, Bowdoin rallied one more time, this time with a layup and free throw by All-American forward Maddie Hasson. She scored 10 points in the fourth period alone to keep Bowdoin close, and another layup pulled the Polar Bears within two with under three minutes to play.

Tufts’ Emily Briggs answered with a layup and a three, pushing the Jumbos’ lead back to seven. After a Bowdoin layup, Caitlin Harrington hit an off-balance runner for Tufts as she tumbled toward the baseline. Bowdoin tried to inbound the ball quickly, but Erica DeCandido stole it away from Hasson and fed Harrington for a layup that pushed the lead to 91-82 and effectively put the game away.

Bowdoin entered the game ranked sixth in Division III for fewest points allowed (48.1) and Tufts was ranked 11^th (50.2) but the teams nearly reached those totals against each other at the half. Tufts finished the game with 59 percent shooting, 12 made three-pointers and a perfect 13-for-13 showing from the foul line. The Jumbos also tallied 20 assists to just eight turnovers.

The game marked a homecoming for Tufts head coach Jill (nee Henrikson) Pace who grew up in nearby Bath, Maine. She played four years at Bowdoin, all of them resulting in trips to the NCAA Tournament, under current head coach Adriene Shibles. Pace spent two seasons under as an assistant at Tufts under Carla Berube before rebuilding the program at Pomona-Pitzer where she was named the West Region Coach of the Year last season. When Berube made the jump to head coach at Division I Princeton, Pace returned to the East Coast and took over the Tufts program.

With a week of build up to Friday night's game, Pace had plenty of time to think about her first trip to Morrell Gymnasium as the opponent's head coach.

“It wasn’t weird at all,” said Pace after the game. “I’ve been just using the word ‘fun.’ Adrienne is such a great coach and a special mentor. She’s someone that I’ve really admired. So, in that way, it was really special as well.”

The game was also a big departure from the last time that the top two teams in the national rankings played each other. The last No. 1-versus-No. 2 battle also featured Tufts in a game the Jumbos lost to Amherst, 36-35.

This year Tufts was able to scratch past then-fourth ranked Amherst on the road, 48-46 in overtime, before beating No. 2 Bowdoin in a shootout. Two road games played at very different paces. Two road wins for Coach Pace and Tufts.

No one’s stat line exemplifies the differences in these wins better than sophomore shooting guard Molly Ryan. Against Amherst, Ryan went 1 for 8 with three points in 44 minutes. Tonight she scored 19 points with five made three-pointers and added four assists and three rebounds in 39 minutes.

“[Molly] is getting more confident. She definitely is more confident from freshman to sophomore year,” said Pace. “For me it’s, ‘just shoot your shot. You’re going to miss because that’s what shooters do.’ We want her to keep shooting and not to lose confidence.”

Ryan had a lot of open looks in part because of Erica DeCandido’s all-around strong performance. The All-American also scored 19 points with six rebounds and seven assists, making Bowdoin pay for collapsing on her on defense.

“We were playing really unselfish basketball. And not too unselfish where you’re overpassing,” Pace explained. “[Erica] is a tremendous passer and she passes out of double teams really well.”

For Bowdoin, Maddie Hasson scored 29 points in 29 minutes, often using her guard-like speed to get to the rim for layups. Four starters reached double figures for both teams.

The season heads two different directions for these two teams. Bowdoin will celebrate its seniors on Saturday when the Polar Bears host Bates in their last home game of the regular season. Tufts will stay in Maine to play Colby and then head home for the last four games of the regular season.