Brunswick, Maine – The Trinity College women's basketball team fell to nationally ranked Bowdoin, 63-47, on Sunday afternoon in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action at Morrell Gymnasium. With the loss, the Bantams move to 6-13 overall and 1-6 in conference play, while the Polar Bears won their 16th straight to improve to 19-2 on the year and 7-0 in league tilts.

Senior swing player Taylor Higgins (Merrick, N.Y.) led the offensive attack for Trinity with a game-high 18 points to go along with three assists. Junior center Mackenzie Griffin (Stamford, Conn.) continued her strong play in the post for the Bantams pouring in 12 points and pulling down nine rebounds. Junior guard Alexa Menard (Wallingford, Conn.) filled out the stat sheet for the visitors as she scored seven points, grabbed five boards, dished out two assists and recorded two steals.

Bowdoin was led offensively by junior forward Shannon Brady with 18 points and six rebounds. The Polar Bears had a balanced attack with four other players scoring at least seven points as Megan Phleps, Marle Curle and Sara Binkhorst each netted eight points and Ally Silfen scored seven off the bench.

Trinity came out hot, scoring the first two baskets of the game and forcing a pair of turnovers to hold a 4-0 edge just under two minutes into the contest. The visitors lead throughout the early portion of the contest as a layup from first-year forward Emily Llerena (New Milford, Conn.) gave the team a five-point lead at 15-10 with 12:47 left in the first half. Bowdoin responded with a 7-0 run to grab a 17-15 advantage following a Siena Mitman layup. With 5:29 left in the first half, the Bantams took their biggest lead of the half and the game as Higgins knocked down a jumper to make it 26-19. The hosts ended the opening 20 minutes on a 13-4 run to hold a 32-30 lead heading into halftime.

In the second half, Bowdoin never trailed as its stout defense held the Bantams to 23 percent shooting and forced eight turnovers. From the foul line in the final 20 minutes, the Polar Bears hit all six of their attempts, while the Bantams knocked down just 4-of-10.

The visiting Bantams shot just over 31 percent from field despite knocking down just three of their 20 three-point attempts. Bowdoin held a 51-36 advantage on the glass and the Polar Bears committed 17 turnovers compared to 16 miscues by Trinity. A big factor in the game was free-throw shooting as Bowdoin hit 13-of-14 from the charity stripe, while the Bantams hit six of their 13 attempts. Overall, there were four ties and three lead changes in the contest.

Trinity returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 3, with a non-conference home game versus Rivier with the opening tip scheduled for 7:00 p.m.