Brunswick, Maine - The Trinity College Bantams defeated the Wellesley College Blue, 62-47, this evening to earn a share of the Bowdoin College Women's Basketball Classic this evening. The host Polar Bears downed Clark, 82-46, to tie the Bantams with a 2-0 record in the tournament. Trinity is now 9-3 overall with its third consecutive victory, while No. 21-ranked Bowdoin improves to 9-1, Clark falls to 2-9, and Wellesley drops to 7-3. Trinity won against Clark, 74-47, yesterday in its Classic opener.
Bowdoin's Nicole Coombes and Trinity junior guard Kaitlin Ciarleglio (Waterbury, Conn.) were named Co-Most Valuable Players of the tournament and were joined on the All-Classic team by Trinity junior guard Michelle Royals (Trinity), Katie Bergeron (Bowdoin), Megan Grondin (Clark) and Becca Kimball (Wellesley).
Trinity used a 14-0 run to open the second half and held off Wellesley in a 15-point victory. The Bantams led by nine at halftime and extended their advantage to 23 points before a furious
comeback by the Blue cut the lead to single digits midway through the period. But Trinity, behind 15 points from Ciarlegio, was able to stem the tide. Ciarleglio added five assists and four steals while senior tri-captain guard Kristen Fahey (Cumberland, R.I.) totaled 11 points and six steals and Royals netted 10 points with five assists. Wellesley was led by 18 points from Kimball and 13 with eight rebounds from Leslie Leong.
"I am pleased with the first half of our season. We are starting to play with much more consistency, and the starting five has done a great job so far of dictating the tempo of the games and playing strong from the start," says Head Coach Wendy Davis. "The bench has provided a spark when we've needed one, and the freshmen are beginning to get used to our system and playing with more confidence every time out. The cohesiveness of this particular team both on and off the court is very refreshing, and has been a fun group to coach. We look forward to the challenge of the NESCAC games."
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