By Sun Journal staff

LEWISTON – Meg Coffin scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead Bates College to a 71-55 victory over Williams College in NESCAC semifinal women’s basketball action Saturday.

Maggie Miller led the Ephs (21-5) with 18 points and 10 rebounds, including 12 points and six boards in the first half, when Williams came back from a 21-13 deficit to take a 33-32 halftime lead.

Matia Kostakis hit a jumper and first-year guard Jackie Powers converted a pair of free throws to open the second half for the Bobcats (19-7), and Bates never trailed again. Coffin scored 12 of her points and grabbed 10 of her rebounds in the second half, while Powers went 9-for-10 from the line.

The No. 1-seed Bobcats will take on arch-rival No. 2 Bowdoin in the NESCAC finals today at 1 p.m. at Alumni Gymnasium. It’s the fourth consecutive season the two teams will meet in the conference finals.

Bowdoin has won the championship all five years, while Bates is riding a 23-game home winning streak.

USM 71, Eastern Connecticut 55

GORHAM – Senior forward Megan Myles of Auburn scored a game-high 21 points to lead top-ranked University of Southern Maine to its 10th consecutive LEC tournament championship with a 71-55 win over third-seed Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon.

Myles connected on 6-of-14 from the floor and was perfect from the free-throw line with eight to lead three Huskies (27-1) players in double figures. Junior forward Ashley Marble, who was named the LEC tournament Most Valuable Player, tossed in 17 points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, while junior forward Shannon Kynoch chipped in with 12 points for a solid performance off the bench.

Junior forward Sandy Mosley led the Wrriers (21-7) with 14 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Kathy Shaw added 12 and five rebounds off the bench. Senior center Katie Kline added nine points on a perfect 4-for-4 mark from the field.

The 2006 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball National Championship Tournament pairing will be announced on Monday. The Huskies will be making their 20th appearance in the NCAA National Championship tournament.

Bowdoin 61, Wesleyan 46

LEWISTON – Eileen Flaherty scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds as second-seeded Bowdoin downed third-seeded Wesleyan 61-46 in the NESCAC semifinals, setting up a showdown with top-seeded Bates on Sunday.

Marisa Nerne and Julia Loonin each netted 12 points for the Polar Bears (23-2), and Justine Pouravelis pulled down 12 rebounds to go with eight points and four assists.

UMF 55, Maine Maritime 53

CASTINE – Melissa Sawyer hit a clutch basket with 1:40 left to play, and the University of Maine at Farmington women’s basketball team held on for a 55-53 victory over Maine Maritime to win the North Atlantic Conference championship and clinch a berth in NCAA Division III tournament.

Tournament MVP Kari Simpson netted 18 points to go with eight rebounds, four steals, and a pair of blocked shots. Karen Sirois added 12 points and six takeaways for the Beavers (24-4).

Julia Knights had a game-high 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds to spark Maine Maritime (23-5), which battled back in the second half to tie the game with five minutes to play. Alyssa Burns had nine points for the Mariners.

St. Joe’s 64, St. Joseph’s Brooklyn 62

STANDISH – Kaylin Regula recorded a triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists as St. Joseph’s eked out a 64-62 victory over St. Joseph’s of Brooklyn in women’s basketball.

Danielle Somma, Megan Farrell, and Yo Pierre-Jacques joined Regula in double figures with 10 points each, and Pierre-Jacques added nine assists for the Monks (18-11).

Lynette Reyes dropped in a game-high 24 points for St. Joseph’s Brooklyn (9-16), including perfect 4-for-4 shooting from behind the 3-point line. Annamarie Ciorciari added 14 points and dished out seven assists.

Hartford 65, Maine 41

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Danielle Hood dropped in 19 points as the University of Hartford women’s team tied the school record for wins in a season, besting the University of Maine 65-41 to finish the year at 22-3.

Hood scored eight of her points during a 14-2 run to start the second half that opened up a 19-point lead for the Hawks. Erika Messam added 14 points, the only other Hawk to join Hood in double figures.

Abby Schrader had nine points to lead the Black Bears (8-17), and Margaret Elderton added eight points.

Hockey

Maine 4, BC 1

ORONO – Sonia Corriveau converted on back-to-back 5-on-3 powerplays in the first period to spark the University of Maine to a 4-1 victory over Boston College.

It was the Black Bears’ 17th victory of the season.

Pam Patterson got Maine on the board at the 16:06 mark of the first, and Corriveau followed up with her special teams heroics to build a 3-0 lead. Patterson added another goal in the second period to make it 4-0.

Bowdoin 2, Connecticut College 1

BRUNSWICK – Jayme Woogerd scored both Bowdoin goals as the Polar Bears tipped Connecticut College 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the NESCAC women’s hockey tournament.

Second-seeded Bowdoin (16-8-1) peppered Camel goalie Gabby Petrill with 21 shots in the first periord, but could not find the answer for the senior netminder until Woogerd put a shot over her shoulder 18 seconds into the second period. Suzie Connor tied the game for the Camels at 1-1 with a short-handed tally later in the period, but Woogerd redirected a feed from Katie Fortney from behind the net with 8:02 remaining in the game for the winning tally.

Emileigh Mercer finished with eight saves for the Polar Bears. Petrill stopped 36 shots for Connecticut College (6-13-4).

Bowdoin advances to play third-seeded Williams in the semifinals next Saturday at Middlebury College.

Colby 4, Amherst 2

WATERVILLE – Freshman Rebecca Julian recorded a hat trick as Colby edged Amherst 4-2 in the NESCAC quarterfinals in women’s hockey.

Julian netted the first two goals of the game two minutes apart in the first period, and Heather Nickerson knocked home the eventual game-winner at 15:25. Nickerson also set up Julian’s third goal at 16:06 of the second period on the power play. Anna MacLean and Tarasai Karega scored for Amherst (11-14).

UMass-Boston 4, USM 1

BOSTON, Mass. – Melissa Belmonte scored a goal and added an assist as the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth eliminated the University of Southern Maine women’s hockey team from the ECAC playoffs with a 4-1 victory.

Andrea Ciarletta, Katie Reardon, and Casey Turner also scored for the fourth-seeded Anchormen, and Kerri Loranger had a pair of assists. Shannon Palmer backstopped UMass-Boston with 12 saves.

Junior defenseman Jennifer Cordone found the left corner of the net on assists from Meaghan Barnaby and Lauren Pierce to get the Huskies (6-20-0) on the board in the third period.