Click here to subscribe today or Login.
By KURT KNAPEK
kknapek@leader.net
Sunday, March 16, 2003 Page: 3C
WILKES-BARRE – Maybe it’s a good thing the members of the Eastern
Connecticut State University basketball team cut down the nets at King’s
College’s Scandlon Gymnasium.
There’s a chance if the Bowdoin players got their hands on the nets – and
the rims for that matter – they might have thrown them in the trash.
Bowdoin made just 18 of 62 shots from the field – including several missed
layups in the first half – and dropped a 58-47 decision to Eastern Connecticut
State in the NCAA Women’s Division III playoffs Saturday.
“We just couldn’t score,” said Bowdoin coach Stefanie Pemper. “I liked our
shot selection. We just didn’t shoot well.”
The win sends the Warriors (27-4) to the Final Four for the first time
since the 1992-93 season. They open play against Wisconsin-Eau Claire (31-1)
on Friday in Terre Haute, Ind. Eau Claire defeated previously unbeaten Hope,
74-56, on Saturday.
Eastern Connecticut State defeated King’s 67-57 on Friday.
“They’re on a roll right now,” Pemper said.
Bowdoin finished with a 26-3 record and one game short of the Final Four
for the second consecutive season.
Two-time All-American Allison Coleman scored a game-high 21 points to lead
Eastern Connecticut State. Her three-pointer, in which she ran around three
screens, gave the Warriors a 48-44 lead with 3:09 remaining. Bowdoin got no
closer.
“That was a key point in the game,” Eastern Connecticut State coach Denise
Bierly said. “That took the wind out of Bowdoin’s sails a little bit.”
The Polar Bears scored the first four points of the game, but Eastern
Connecticut State went on a 17-2 run to take control. Bowdoin missed 15
consecutive shots – 10 shots coming from within five feet – during the
stretch.
“We got some good shots,” said Bowdoin guard Lora Trenkle, who scored a
team-high 18 points. “They just didn’t fall for us.”
Bowdoin cut the lead to 28-24 by halftime, then scored the first four
points of the second half to tie the game at 28. A three-pointer by Trenkle
gave the Polar Bears a 36-33 lead with 14:05 remaining.
Eastern Connecticut State answered with a 12-2 run over the next eight
minutes to open up a 45-38 lead with 6:57 remaining. Bowdoin made only 1-of-10
shots during that span.
Bowdoin made one last run. A free throw by Lindsay Bramwell cut the lead to
45-44 with 3:22 left.
But Coleman’s three-pointer ignited a 6-0 run that put Eastern Connecticut
in the driver’s seat. The Warriors made 7-of-8 free throws in the final 29
seconds to seal the win.