BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel Women's Basketball Team dropped an 80-65 non-conference decision to visiting Bowdoin College on Saturday afternoon in the Jean Yawkey Center. Despite a game-high 21-point effort from Meghan Kirwan (Melrose, Mass), the Saints now stand at 4-6 on the season. Bowdoin had a balanced scoring attack with five players netting in double figures, as the Polar Bears improved to 11-1 overall.
Bowdoin jumped out to a quick lead, grabbing the first four points of the game before the opening minute had expired. Sophomore Fiona O'Dwyer (Stamford, Conn.) gave the Saints their first points of the match not long afterwards. A beautiful bounce pass by senior Kristin LeBel (Tolland, Conn.) to a cutting Kirwan underneath the hoop led to two more points for Emmanuel and a 6-6 tie in the game.
Following the early 6-0 run by the Polar Bears, the Saints put together a streak of their own, tallying a 14-0 run before Bowdoin hit a three-pointer to bring the spread to 16-9.
The visitors added to their total with a strong layup under the hoop by junior Amy Hackett (Bangor, Maine) and junior Ellery Gould (East Sandwich, Mass.) responded a few moments later with a three-pointer. Foul shots by senior Colleen Sweeney (Danbury, Conn.) matched the scores at 18-18 with nine minutes left in the first half.
It was not until over a minute later that the next point was scored in the contest, with Bowdoin hitting two free-throws to make it 20-18 in favor of the visitors. After a quick two by LeBel, the Polar Bears responded with a layup and then a quick steal off the rush and another bucket to set a four point lead. Emmanuel senior guard Casey Shevlin (Medford, N.Y.) gave the Saints another two with a jumper from inside the arc and another LeBel pass to a cutting Kirwan drew the Saints back into the match, now trailing Bowdoin by a score of 27-24.
Hackett gave the Polar Bears another three points with a floater near the baseline while being fouled and sinking the ensuing free-throw to make the score 32-26 in favor of Bowdoin with a minute remaining in the half. The Polar Bears would add two more points to take a 34-26 edge into the break.
Kirwan led all scorers with 10 points in the first half with Bowdoin's Kaitlin Donahoe (Amherst, N.Y.) adding a team-leading seven for the Polar Bears. Emmanuel held an 18-8 edge in points in the paint while Bowdoin's bench notched 14 points to the stat sheet compared to Emmanuel's four.
The Polar Bears out-rebounded the Saints, 22-19 while also going 3-6 from beyond the arc while Emmanuel was 0-6. The two teams combined for a dismal 27 turnovers in the opening frame.
Bowdoin opened the gate in the second half with the first four points before in under a minute, but O'Dwyer found the bucket a minute later and grabbed a jump-ball to give possession back to the Saints. Another great pass down low by LeBel allowed O'Dwyer to drain another layup, with LeBel nailing a jumper not long after to make the score 38-32 for Bowdoin.
Senior Katie Bergeron (Bradley, Maine) hit a three-pointer from the corner for the Polar Bears but Emmanuel junior Breanna Ockimey (Philadelphia, Pa.) hit two more threes following another Polar Bear bucket to pull the Saints to within five.
At the 14-minute-mark, Hackett drilled another trey for the Polar Bears to extend the lead to eight as the two teams traded possession back and forth through turnovers. Midway through the half, Bowdoin held a 57-45 edge over the Saints with the Polar Bears going 6-11 from beyond the three-point line.
Shevlin hit a trey at the 10-minute mark, but the Polar Bears responded on the ensuing drive with a trifecta of their own. Kirwan then took control of play for a minute by nailing a three-pointer from the right side of the court and then stealing the pass upcourt by Bowdoin. The Polar Bears called a full timeout with just under six minutes remaining in the contest and with their team leading, 62-54.
The Saints found themselves down 10 at the five-minute mark. Bowdoin junior Jill Hendrikson (Bath, Maine) gave the Polar Bears a few more points with a bucket under the glass. The visitors went up by as many as 15-points and came away with the 80-65 win.
Bowdoin was led by Sweeney, who hit for 14 points and grabbed a team-high 9 rebounds. Bergeron added 12 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds. Hacket netted 11 points on 4 for 8 shooting, while Alexa Barry (Rindge, N.H.) and Nicole Coombes (Simsbury, Conn.) chipped in with 10 points apiece. As a team, the Polar Bears shot 45.6% from the floor and 46.7% from behind the arc in the win.
Kirwan was the high-scorer for the Saints with 21 points on 8 for 14 shooting in a solid 37-minute effort. Ockimey and Shevlin hit for 12 points apiece. LeBel added 8 points and dished out a game-high 7 assists. O'Dwyer scored 8 points and hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds in the effort.
Emmanuel returns to action on Tuesday night, when the Saints host the Lasers of Lasell College in a 7:30pm start. Bowdoin will play at Bates College on Tuesday night at 8pm.