BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bowdoin College women's basketball team sprinted to an early lead and coasted to a 93-73 win over Hunter College in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday evening at Morrell Gymnasium.

The Polar Bears (27-1) advance to the second round where they will host Smith on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Smith defeated Merchant Marine, 74-51, in the other first round game Friday night in Brunswick.

Game Highlights

• The game started with back-to-back made jump shots by Hannah Graham. Followed up by a Taylor Choatedriving layup, Abby Kelly mid-range shot and another Choate layup as the Polar Bears pulled away with a quick 10-0 lead.
• Bowdoin continued to roll as Samantha Roy made a highlight-reel play when she made a no look pass to Hannah Graham in the corner for the three, giving Bowdoin a 28-5 lead with 1:15 remaining in the first quarter.
• Bowdoin finished the first quarter with a 28-9 lead. Hannah Graham paced the scoring for the Polar Bears with seven points.
• Maddie Hasson finished the first half with eight points and eight rebounds (six offensive) for the Polar Bears. Olivia Ware beat the first half buzzer for the Polar Bears after securing an offensive rebound and quickly laid it in as Bowdoin took a 54-30 lead into the half.
• The Polar Bears extended their lead to as many as 41 points in the second half on their way to the win.

By The Numbers

• All 14 Polar Bears stepped on the floor for Bowdoin, 11 of them found the scoring column.
• Jade Aponte posted a new career high in her final game for the Hawks with 36 points. She also added nine rebounds for Hunter.
• Five players scored double figures for Bowdoin. Samantha Roy led the way with a team-high 16. Taylor Choatenotched 12 points, Abby Kelly also scored 12, Sela Kay added 11 and Maddie Hasson posted 10 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
• Bowdoin dominated the glass, out-rebounding Hunter by a total of 51-34.
• There were a total of 52 fouls called in the game, 26 on each side. The Polar Bears shot 23-of-37 (62.2%) from the line. The Hawks converted 23-of-30 (76.7%) from the stripe.
• Bowdoin shot 10-of-28 (35.7%) from three-point range in the win.
• The Polar Bears were sharing the ball all night, assisting on 20 of their 30 made baskets, led by six from Taylor Choate.

Up Next

• Bowdoin battles Smith for a trip to the "Sweet Sixteen" on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Tickets will go on sale beginning at 6:00 p.m. in Morrell Gymnasium.
• For fans unable to attend the game, the contest will be carried live on the Northeast Sports Network