BOWDOIN, Maine (March 1, 2024) – The Western New England basketball team would make their third appearance at the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday night, though they would fall short in the opening round game at No. 8 Bowdoin College as the Polar Bear would open the game up in the second quarter and never look back, sinking Western New England by a final score of 69-48.

Records:

• Western New England: 22-6
• Bowdoin College: 26-2

How it Happened:

Western New England would look to upset their nation's eighth-ranked team on Friday night in their own barn in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, with WNE coming in looking for their first win in an NCAA Tournament game in program history. A promising start from the Golden Bears would see Emma Kahn knock home the first shot of the game, which gave WNE a 2-0 lead. The Golden Bears knew they were going to be in a dog fight on Friday night, matching one of the nation's best outside shooting teams in the country while shooting tremendously from the field. Callie Godfrey opened Bowdoin's scoring with a shot down low, though this bucket would not shy away the pesky Golden Bears, who would get back-to-back layups from Shaina Cooney to give the blue and gold a 6-2 lead. Sydney Jones, Bowdoin's leading scorer all season long, would give the Polar Bears a 7-6 lead after splashing a three from outside. Again, Western New England would claw back and not let the crowd interfere with their game. Hoops from Colleen Furlong and Shaina Cooney would once again put WNE on top, this time leading 10-7. The home team would find their groove late in the first quarter, with Carly Davey and Sydney Jones taking over, seeing Bowdoin end the first quarter on a 10-1 run, giving Bowdoin a 17-11 lead. WNE shot 5/11 from the field in the opening frame, while Bowdoin's clutch threes in the quarter would give them the lead.

Lilly Hedge opened the second quarter with the first basket of the second quarter, a quarter in which did not favor well in Western New England's favor. Bowdoin would hit their stride and score seven of nine points in the first three and a half minutes of the second frame, grabbing their first double-digit lead of the game over Western New England. Emma Kahn would attempt to spark the Golden Bears by driving to the rim to score a layup plus a foul, dropping Bowdoin's lead to eight. The Polar Bears offense and defense would be relentless in the second quarter, holding WNE to just seven second quarter points, while the quarter would end on a 10-2 run for the Polar Bears, giving eighth-ranked Bowdoin a 34-18 lead at the half. WNE would make just three field goals in the quarter while being outrebounded 11-6.

With the first half behind them, the Golden Bears saw Shaina Cooney open Western New England with the first four points of the half, while Colleen Furlong dropped Bowdoin's lead to 11 points with 7:27 still to play in the third quarter. Emma Novajasky would get on the board for the first time in the game with a layup in the paint, sinking Bowdoin's lead to nine points and needing a timeout from the Polar Bears. Western New England could not maintain their momentum following the timeout from Bowdoin, seeing the hosts score the next three points and ten of the next 12 to take their largest lead of the game at 17. Tara Laugeni would be the second Golden Bear to score an and-one on the night, coming away with five total points in the third quarter, though Bowdoin would shoot a remarkable 5/10 from distance in the quarter to stretch their lead to 54-33 at the end of the third. The Golden Bears stayed solid in the third, shooting over 50% from the field.

Needing a large comeback in the fourth, WNE would see Bowdoin take their biggest lead of the game with 6:35 left to play in the quarter when Megan Tan clipped a three, giving the Polar Bears a 60-35 lead. Western New England would continue to fight, as they have done all season, seeing Shaina Cooney and Lilly Hedge connect down low while Emma Kahn would rattle home Western New England's first and only three-pointer of the night. WNE would knock Bowdoin's lead down to 18 in the quarter with 3:18 left to play, though it would be too late as the eighth-ranked Polar Bears would be too much for Western New England, defeating the Golden Bears by a final score of 69-48.

Inside the Lines:

• WNE shot 42% from the field, though only connected on one three-point shot on 12 attempts, which doomed them in the end. Shaina Cooney led the Golden Bears with 15 points in the game on 7/14 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds, two blocks, and a steal.
• Emma Kahn helped Western New England with ten points on 4/7 shooting while grabbing one rebound to close out her junior campaign.
• Tara Laugeni ends her collegiate career in the NCAA Tournament by scoring nine points for the Golden Bears.
• Carly Davey made five of eight three-point attempts for Bowdoin in the win, finishing the first-round game with a team-high 21 points. Teammate Sydney Jones dropped 15 points on 6/11 shooting, grabbing six rebounds, seven assists, and six steals in the game.
• Bowdoin matched Western New England's 42.6% shooting, though would overmatch WNE from downtown, shooting 11/26 from three, including 5/10 in the third quarter.
• WNE sees their season come to a close with a 22-6 record, with the 22 wins being a program best.
• Seniors Caeli Fitzpatrick and Colleen Furlong and graduate students Abby Garaban, Lindsey Carey, and Tara Laugeni finish their careers as Golden Bears with the 69-48 loss. Congratulations on outstanding careers, Golden Bears!
• Bowdoin advances to the NCAA Tournament's second round and will take on UMass-Dartmouth on Saturday, March 2, at 6:30 p.m.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will look forward to the 2024–2025 season in hopes of capturing back-to-back CCC titles. WNE finishes 22-6 on the season.