BRUNSWICK, Maine – Playing in its first New England Small College Athletic Conference game of the season, the Trinity College women's basketball team outlasted No. 13-ranked Bowdoin on the road Friday night, winning 60-57 in overtime. The win marks the first time that the Bantams have taken down the Polar Bears since 2013. Trinity improves to 8-3 overall with a 1-0 mark in conference play while Bowdoin slides to 10-3 and 0-1 in the NESCAC. The Bantams resume action tomorrow afternoon for a 3 p.m. tip-off at Colby.
Trinity led at each of the first three breaks and entered the fourth quarter up three while extending the lead to as many as nine before Bowdoin went on a five point run and eventually tied up the game at 52 apiece, thanks to a steal and fast-break layup from Sydney Jones that forced the night's overtime period.
Following a pair of sunken free throws from junior forward Samantha Gallo (Northford, Conn.) and a Bowdoin jumper from Annie Annie Bosberg, senior guard Bailey Hyland (Broad Brook, Conn.) gave the Bantams the spark they were looking for with a three-point play, finishing the layup through contact and burying the free throw. A few moments later, the Polar Bears had a chance to tie the game but Sela Kay's 3-point attempt was stuffed by senior forward Elizabeth Althoff (Staten Island, N.Y.) as Trinity managed to hang on for the gritty road win. Hyland led the way with five points for the Blue and Gold in the overtime session, as the Bantams never trailed en route to the win.
Gallo led the Bantams with 17 points and posted her third double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. Sophomore Tori Varsamis (Belmont, Mass.) also hit double-digits in scoring on the night with 11 points while sophomore Reilly Campbell (Wallingford, Conn.) brought in 11 rebounds. Bowdoin's Sela Kay led all scorers with 23 points shooting 13-of-16 from the line while Jones added 19 points of her own as the two accounted for 74% of the Polar Bears points.