Royer, Trenkle lead Bowdoin past Huskies Polar Bears to face ECSU

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WILKES, BARRE, Pa. – Senior forward Kristi Royer scored a game-high 22 points and the Bowdoin College Polar Bears employed a 19-4 run midway through the second half en route to a 64-47 triumph over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in the round of 16 of the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tourney Friday evening at Scandlon Gym.

Bowdoin, which improved to 26-2, advances to Saturday’s 7 p.m. national quarterfinal, where it will face Eastern Connecticut of Willimantic, which eliminated host King’s College 67-57 in Friday night’s second game.

Southern Maine, which had its 13-game win streak stopped, finishes at 26-4.

Royer hit 8-of-14 shots from the floor and 6-of-8 from the line to power the fifth-ranked Polar Bears.

Bowdoin took a 28-23 lead at the end of the first half and then outscored the Huskies 36-24 in the second to secure the victory.

Bowdoin, which has been sparked all season by its balanced scoring attack, again had several players contribute as Lauren Withey and Lora Trenkle each chipped in with 11 points and Lindsay Bramwell added seven. Trenkle also had three assists.

Bowdoin’s bench was also key as the Polar Bear subs outscored USM’s 15-7.

The Polar Bears also enjoyed a slight edge in the rebounding game with a 40-36 advantage, paced by guard Trenkle with eight and Justine Pouravelis with seven. The rebounding edge provided critical on the offensive end where Bowdoin converted 17 points from second and third shots.

A short jumper by senior center Kara Crockett pulled USM within 35-33 with 14:08 remaining in the contest. However, the Polar Bears answered with a 12-2 run, capped by a pair of free throws from junior forward Bramwell to open a 47-35 advantage.

USM junior forward Nikki Allen halted the run with a layup with seven minutes left to play as the Huskies trimmed the deficit to 47-37.

However, Southern Maine would pull no closer. Bowdoin responded with a 7-0 run to grab a commanding 54-37 advantage with five minutes left in the contest. The Polar Bears took their largest lead at 64-42 when freshman guard Withey drained a pair of free throws with 1:40 to play.

USM freshman forward Dianna Thibaudeau scored the game’s final five points to account for the 64-47 final score.

Bowdoin converted on 18-of-22 (.818 percent) free throws, while Southern Maine was 5-of-10 from the line.

The Huskies received nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds from junior guard Meg Cressler. The game marked the final career appearance for Crockett, who tallied five points, four boards and six blocked shots, and senior forward Jess Libby, who added five points and eight rebounds.

POLAR BEARS 64, HUSKIES 47

Southern Maine (26-4) Bowdoin (26-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Libby 2 9 0 0 5 Royer 8 14 22

Crockett 2 5 1 2 5 Nickerson 1 2

Cressler 4 10 0 0 9 Withey 4 6 11

Frost 3 6 0 0 8 Trenkle 3 13 11

Jones 5 15 1 5 11 Smith 1 5 3

Allen 2 7 0 0 4 Bramwell 1 7

Cowing 0 0 0 0 0 Trotta 1 3 3

Tong 0 1 0 0 0 Reuben 0 0 0 0

Judkins 0 2 0 0 0 Pouravelis 1 2

Stetler 0 0 0 0 0 Russell 1 2 3

Carver 0 0 0 0 0 Pellegrini 0 0

Thibaudeau 1 1 3 3 5

Totals 19 56 5 10 47 21 55 18 22 64

USM 23 47

Bowdoin 28 64

3-pt. goals ? Southern Maine (4-15): Libby 1-5, Cressler 1-3, Frost 2-3, Jones 0-2, Allen 0-1, Judkins 0-1; Bowdoin (4-15): Royer 0-2, Withey 1-1, Trenkle 1-4, Smith 0-1, Bramwell 0-3, Trotta 1-2, Russell 1-2

Attendance: 650