Pointers Fall to Bowdoin in NCAA
Semifinals
Box Score
The UW-Stevens Point women�s basketball team answered nearly
every single run by top-ranked and undefeated Bowdoin Friday, but
couldn�t muster one final rally in falling to a 64-59 loss to the Polar
Bears in the NCAA Division III semifinals in Virginia Beach, Va.
The
Pointers trailed much of the second half, but rallied for a one-point lead
with under two minutes remaining. However, Bowdoin�s Lora Trenkle hit a
pair of key baskets as the Polar Bears held off the final UW-Stevens Point
rally for the victory.
UW-Stevens
Point suffered just its second NCAA tournament loss in four appearances
and had a nine-game tournament winning streak snapped. The Pointers are
28-4 and will play for third place on Saturday against Rochester (N.Y.).
Bowdoin is now 30-0 and will take on Wilmington (Ohio) in a matchup of
first-time championship game participants.
�Bowdoin is a very good basketball team,� said Pointers�
coach Shirley Egner. �But I don�t think we played up to our standards.
You�ve got to give Bowdoin some credit for that.�
The game was sloppy throughout with the teams combining for 47
turnovers. The Pointers shot their second-lowest field goal percentage of
the season at 34.5 percent and had their second-lowest point total against
the nation�s top defensive team.
�This was the most-physically tough game we�ve had,� said
Bowdoin coach Stefanie Pemper. �I�m so happy with how our team
responded in this game both physically and mentally. This victory feels
very, very fulfilling.�
The game was tightly contested throughout with UW-Stevens Point
taking control for a short time in the first half with an 11-2 run as Tara
Schmitt, Andrea Kraemer and Cassandra Schultz all hit three-pointers for a
30-23 lead with 2:31 left in the first half. The Pointers led 32-27 with
18 seconds left when the Polar Bears� Alison Smith scored an inside
basket and then Justine Pouravelis was fouled after a steal. She made both
free throws to cut the lead to 32-31 at the half.
Also on that final play, Pointers� post player Nathalie Lechault
was injured, shortening an already depleted bench that suffered the loss
of Cassandra Heuer earlier in the postseason. In the entire game, an
exhausted starting five combined to play 183 of a possible 200 minutes for
the Pointers.
�We�re a pretty good basketball team and we could be a better
team if we had all the pieces of our puzzle,� Egner said. �I�m proud
of the way our kids battled tonight.�
Bowdoin led by six points at 48-42 with nine minutes left and
appeared ready to pull away as UW-Stevens Point had made just one basket
and scored four points over a nearly eight-minute span. However,
UW-Stevens Point forward Amanda Nechuta began to take control inside. She
scored two straight baskets while scoring 15 of the team�s first 17
points in the second half.
The Polar Bears pushed the lead back to five points with 3:50 left
when the Pointers hit six straight free throws to take the lead, capped by
two shots by Schmitt with 2:18 left. Trenkle responded for Bowdoin
with a driving layup to regain the lead, and after a Pointer miss,
Pouravelis scored inside to give the Polar Bears a 60-57 lead. UW-Stevens
Point had a turnover with 53 seconds left, but Bowdoin gave the ball back
to the Pointers with 28 seconds left.
UW-Stevens Point quickly forced the ball into Nechuta, who scored
to cut the lead to 60-59 with 16 seconds left. After calling one timeout
for failing to inbound the ball, the Polar Bears were again struggling to
find someone open when Trenkle broke free down court and scored a layup
with 13 seconds left. UW-Stevens Point pushed the ball up the floor and
Schultz had an open three-pointer with six seconds left to tie the game
that hit the rim.
�They played pretty good defense,� said Nechuta, who finished
with a game-high 25 points. �It seemed like wherever we wanted to go
they were there.�
Trenkle scored 23 points for Bowdoin, which outrebounded the
Pointers 27-11 and held them to zero-for-eight three-point shooting in the
second half.
�There�s a lot that goes into winning a championship,� Egner
said. �You�ve got to get lucky and our luck ran out. If we could have
just gotten one more defensive stand or one more box out. We fell just a
little short tonight.�
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