HARTFORD, Conn. - The Trinity College women's basketball team, which downed the Williams College Ephs, 57-46, in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship Quarterfinals over the weekend, will host the NESCAC Semifinals and Finals on Stan Ogrodnik Court in Ray Oosting Gymnasium as the tournament's top seed for the first time on Saturday, February 26 and Sunday, February 27.  The Bantams, coached by Emily Garner (5th Season), will face the No. 5-seeded Bates College Bobcats (15-7) in their semifinal on Saturday at 2 p.m. with No. 2-seeded Tufts and No. 3-seeded Amherst facing off at 4:30 p.m. The semifinal winners will play in the NESCAC Championship Finals on Sunday at noon.  The winner of the NESCAC Championship Tournament will determine the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.  Tickets for the semifinal games are $6 for adults, $3 for youth/seniors/students and children under two are free.  Semifinal tickets will be sold as a package and valid for both semifinal games. 

Trinity, which lost four starters to season-ending injuries in the first two months of the season, won five of its last six games after an 11-day pause for COVID-19 protocols, and clinched the top seed in the conference tournament with a 63-61 victory at Hamilton in its last game. Trinity is making its fourth straight appearance in the NESCAC Championship and 14th overall.  The Bantams, who last played in the NESCAC Semifinals in 2014, lost in the NESCAC Quarterfinals in 2017, 2018, and, 2019, before breaking through again this winter as the top seed.  Trinity bounced Williams from the NESCAC Tournament on Sunday with a 57-46 win, coming back from a 25-22 deficit at the half.  Sophomore center Reilly Campbell (Wallingford, Conn.) scored 16 points  and the Bantams shot 60 percent from the floor (12-20), held Williams to 33.3 percent shooting (8-24), and outrebounding the Ephs, 16-10.  Campbell and sophomore guard Tori Varsamis (Belmont, Mass.) both scored 10 points after halftime, as Campbell's 16 points led all scorers to go with her nine rebounds, three steals, and two blocks, and Varsamis added four assists to her 10 points.  Bantam junior C/F Samantha Gallo (Northford, Conn.) also scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds, senior tri-captain guard Bailey Hyland (Broad Brook, Conn.) totaled six points, five boards, and five assists, and first-year guard Indianna DelRocco (Branford, Conn.) added nine points off the bench.  

Trinity has been dominant inside and on the defensive end of the floor, as the Bantams lead the NESCAC in defensive rebounding (28.3 per game) and free throws made (84 in 118 attempts) and rank second in both field goal percentage defense (.342) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.253).  Gallo leads the league with 72 made free throws and ranks second with a .791 percentage at the line.  She and Campbell, who began playing in January after transferring to Trinity from Lafayette after the fall semester, are both averaging over 11 points and close to seven rebounds each per game.  Campbell and senior C/F Elizabeth Althoff (Staten Island, N.Y.) have 39 blocked shots between them, and eight different Bantams have 10 or more steals this winter.  Varsamis averages 9.1 ppg and had made a team-high 39 3-pointers, while Hyland averages 7.8 points and 5.2 rebounds.  Rookie guards DelRocco and Hannah Marzo (Shrewsbury, Mass.) have combined for over 12 ppg and 70 assist between them.  The Bantams are currently ranked No. 4 in the NCAA Division III Northeast Region.   

Bates, coached by Alison Montgomery (5th Season), is in the NESCAC Semifinals for the first time since 2010 after an 87-75 victory at No. 4 Middlebury. Senior Mia Roy set a NESCAC Championship single-game scoring record pouring in a career-high 35 points to lead the Bobcats. Junior Meghan Graff leads the team in scoring (16.0 ppg), is averaging 4.4 assists per game. Bates leads the NESCAC in rebounding (43.0 rpg) and junior Brianna Gadaleta is the team leader at 7.5 rebounds per game. Bates is 4-1 in its last five games and is looking to reach the championship game for the fifth time. The Bobcats evened the NESCAC Championship series to 1-1 with a 76-71 win in the 2009 quarterfinals the last time the two teams met. Both Bates, ranked No. 5 in the region, and Trinity are looking to win the first NESCAC title in program history.  Trinity earned a 64-59 win over the Bobcats on February 5 in Hartford.