BRUNSWICK – Two quick baskets ignited the spark the Bates women’s basketball team had hoped for.

After starting the second half down by double-digits, the Bobcats were making a move and bringing the bench to its collective feet.

Coach Jim Murphy jokingly asked an official “Is it okay to jump up if we get excited?”

Though the Bobcats got permission, Bates didn’t have the opportunity the rest of the way. The excitement waned quickly, and the rally was short-lived. Bowdoin pulled away in the second half and handed Bates it first loss in a 67-48 win in the conference opener for both teams.

“That was an old fashion butt kicking, that’s what that was,” said Murphy. “They’re always the best defensive team we play. They mix it up. They had a 1-3-1 zone which they’ve never used since I’ve been coaching against them, at least not to my knowledge. I just thought every loose ball, every rebound, they seemed to get and we didn’t get. In a game of this magnitude, you’ve got to get every advantage you can.”

Bates (12-1) got a leaner from Olivia Zurek and a 3-pointer from Sarah Barton to get the Bobcats within 37-32 in the opening minutes of the second half, but Bowdoin (11-1) never wavered. A Vanessa Russell 3-pointer halted that run and put Bowdoin back up by eight.

“I was really happy with that,” said Bowdoin coach Stefanie Pemper. “We made a couple errors to start the second half. They hit some shots. Their crowd got into it. I thought we handled it, and the next thing I know is we’re still up by nine.”

Bates would get within 40-34, but Bowdoin soon pulled away. Baskets by Eileen Flaherty and Justine Pouravelis made it 44-34. A trio of 3-pointers by Marisa Berne padded the lead including back-to-back 3-pointers during an 8-0 run.

“I thought we kept our composure really well,” said Berne. “We didn’t really let them bother us. Katie Cummings, our point-guard, really had great poise in the backcourt and didn’t let the pressure rattle her. We didn’t have many turnovers against their pressure.”

Bowdoin hit a record nine 3-pointers to win their 48th straight home game. Berne had five, one shy of the team mark. She finished with 17 points while Russell had 13 points. Flaherty added 11. The Polar Bears shot 52 percent from behind the arch.

“I just did what I knew I had to do,” said Berne. “I concentrated, used my legs and followed through. The shots just happen to fall tonight.”

Zurek led Bates with 18 points, but the Bobcats struggled to get its rhythm offensively from the start. Bates started the game hitting just three of its first 10 shots and got behind early. The Bobcats played from behind the rest of the way.

“Our offense was really our defense because we were hitting our shots and weren’t allowing them to run,” said Berne. “We also played their tendencies well.”

Bowdoin maintained the lead through the first half. Bates was tentative offensively, shooting 32 percent from the floor, and was slowed down by the Polar Bear defense. When the Bobcats did get some offense, defensive breakdowns allowed Bowdoin to answer.

“I thought we would play better,” said Murphy. “That’s my only disappointment. You’ve got to give Bowdoin all kinds of credit for the way they played. We just weren’t quite with it.”