The #8 Bowdoin College women’s basketball team would fall just short of a return trip to the NCAA Division III Final Four on Saturday night. Jessie Ruffner scored a game-high 27 points, in leading Smith College to a 52-47 win over the Polar Bears at Morrell Gymnasium in Brunswick in the Elite 8.
Bowdoin had a couple of small leads early in the first quarter led by six points from Sydney Jones. A three-point play by Ruffner with 5:29 left in the opening 10 minutes would push Smith College into the lead 7-6, and they wouldn’t relinquish that until the third quarter. They would lead by as many as eight twice in the first half, with Ruffner providing one of those with another three-point play in the opening period. The Polar Bears would slice their deficit to 23-19 at the halftime break on a three-pointer by Megan Tan with three seconds remaining in the second quarter.
It was a three-point barrage early in the third quarter as the teams swapped leads. Carly Davey knocked one in from long distance for Bowdoin, and Tan scored on a layup to make it 24-23 Polar Bears. Jane Loo answered for Smith College with a three-pointer of her own, before Tan pushed the hosts ahead again dialing it up from long distance. Ruffner restored the Pioneers lead seconds later with a layup. Bowdoin had a one point edge 39-38 heading to the fourth on a late jumper by Davey. After a 5-0 run to start the final 10 minutes by Smith College, the Polar Bears scored five straight and take their final lead of the evening 44-43 with 4:28 left on a 2-2 effort from the foul line by Abbie Quinn. A layup by Sofia Rosa gave Smith College the lead for good. Ruffner scored seven points down the stretch in the final 3:13 that included another three-point play and four free throws to send the Pioneers to the Final Four.
Tan led Bowdoin in the loss with 12 points and six rebounds. Davey finished with 11 points. Callie Godfrey chipped in eight points, while Jones and Quinn had six points a piece. Godfrey and Jones added seven rebounds each, and Quinn hauled in five. The Polar Bears shot 35% from the floor that included just 3-19 (16%) from the three-point arc. The loss snaps a nine game win streak for Bowdoin, who ends a fantastic season with a record of 28-3. They were seeking a return trip to the Final Four for the first time since 2019. Ruffner added 13 rebounds to her game-high point total in the win for Smith College on 10-18 shooting from the field. Rosa also had a double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Pioneers also didn’t shoot the ball well ending up at a 33% clip and 2-16 (12%) from three-point range. Smith now has a 15 game win streak, and advances to a national semifinal on Thursday at 5 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio against #7 Wartburg who won their regional final at Rhode Island College 68-58 over Washington & Lee.
Recap by Chris Lessner
