SCRANTON, Pa. – Nearly a year ago to the day, the University of Mary Washington women’s basketball team was Bowdoin College’s steppingstone to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Division III tournament.

Saturday night, with the top-ranked Polar Bears threatening to earn a spot in the Final Four, the Eagles refused to let their opportunity slip away again.

Mary Washington turned up its defensive intensity in the second half and outscored Bowdoin 15-3 over the last 81/2 minutes to earn a 64-59 victory in an Elite 8 game at the University of Scranton’s Long Center.

“Bowdoin’s an extremely good team,” said Mary Washington coach Deena Applebury. “They had the lead the majority of the game, but our kids fought hard and we never let down.

“Them sending us home last year left a little bit of a sour taste in our mouth, and so we just came out, especially in the second half, and picked up the tempo and the intensity,” she added.

The Fredericksburg, Va.-based Eagles (30-2), who have won 26 straight games, advance to face DePauw University in Friday’s national semifinal game at Springfield College (Mass.).

The Polar Bears of Brunswick, who made their seventh consecutive Sweet 16 appearance, close out another stellar campaign at 29-2.

Bowdoin led by as many as 11 points early in the second half, but was unable to put UMW away. The Eagles changed the tone of the game by shutting down the Polar Bears with gritty man-to-man defense.

Bowdoin was unable to solve the UMW defense late in the second half and shot 1-for-12 from the field while committing three turnovers as the Eagles turned the tide.

“They’re athletic, they’re deep, they’re big,” said Bowdoin coach Stefanie Pemper. “They just showed what a good team they are.”

UMW also created high-percentage scoring chances on the offensive end and wound up shooting 60 percent (12-for-20) after intermission. Bowdoin, which had built its lead with a combination of man-to-man and 2-3 zone defenses, was unable to contain the aggressive Eagles.

The Polar Bears were whistled for 13 fouls in the last 13 minutes, which Mary Washington parlayed into a 19-10 overall advantage from the foul line.

“We just had to get some kind of momentum on the offensive end,” Applebury said. “We got some defensive stops and then we finally started knocking down some shots and were drawing fouls.”

Liz Hickey, a 6-foot-3 center, paced UMW with 15 points and five blocked shots. She scored nine of those points after picking up her fourth foul at the 13:14 mark.

Lisa Tracy added 11 points and seven rebounds, while Amanda Bates added eight points, six rebounds and five assists.

Jill Anelauskas (three assists) led Bowdoin with 18 points, while Eileen Flaherty (three steals) finished with 15. Alexa Kaubrias added 12 points, while Katie Cummings dished out five assists. Leah Rubega added nine points and six rebounds.

Bowdoin seniors Flaherty, Julia Loonin, and Cummings finished their careers with a 112-9 overall record (.926), the best winning percentage of any senior class in NCAA basketball, regardless of division, the past four years.

Bowdoin led 56-49 after Anelauskas canned an 18-footer with 8:21 remaining, but the Eagles didn’t stop clawing. Hickey made a free throw, then converted back-to-back turnaround jumpers from close range during a 6-0 spurt that got UMW within two with six minutes left.

“We were battling the whole way and they just kept having answers,” said UMW’s Leigh Kampman. “I just knew once we got over that hurdle, there was no stopping us. We dug deep.”

Hickey finally got the Eagles even at 59-59 with an eight-footer at the 2:40 mark and Bowdoin couldn’t answer. After the Polar Bears committed back-to-back turnovers, Kampman’s foul shot put UMW ahead for good with 1:09 left.

The Eagles made their last four free throws to ice the victory.

“There came a point in the second half where I thought we had a really hard time stopping [Hickey],” Pemper said. “Credit to her, she was playing with four fouls. I thought she gave her team a lot of confidence.”

EAGLES 64, POLAR BEARS 59

Bowdoin (29-2) Mary Wshingtn (30-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Anelausks 8 16 0 0 18 Bruen 4 8 8

Flaherty 6 15 1 2 15 Tracy 4 6 11

Loonin 1 6 0 0 3 Hickey 7 13 16

Cummings 1 6 0 0 2 Kampman 1 4 6

Kaubris 3 8 4 4 12 Bates 1 2 8

Noucas 0 1 0 0 0 Clarkin 1 5 3

Hynes 0 0 0 0 0 Mitchell 2 4

Cote 0 3 0 0 0 Larson 1 4 6 8

Rubega 2 5 5 5 9

Totals 21 60 10 11 59 Totals 21 44 19 27 64

Bowdoin 31 59

Mary Washington 22 64

3-pt. goals – Bowdoin (7-26): Kaubris 2-4, Anelauskas 2-6, Flaherty 2-6, Loonin 1-5, Noucas 0-1, Cote 0-1, Cummings 0-3; Mary Washington (3-11): Kampman 1-2, Bates 1-2, Clarkin 1-4, Larson 0-1, Bruen 0-2

Attendance: 350