Box Score
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Brooke Kratche (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) and Fredi Nielsen (Bridgeport, Conn.) combined for 43 points, but the Scots fell short against the No. 19 Bowdoin Polar Bears in the team's final game at the Land of Magic Classic. Bowdoin held off the Scots' final few runs to notch a 71-53 victory and win their eleventh straight game to begin the 2013-14 season.
 
Down to only a handful of healthy players, the Gordon Women's Basketball team fought hard in their holiday tournament finale in Florida. Despite a double-digit loss to the Polar Bears on Sunday evening, the biggest story for the Scots as they return home for conference play next week, is the development of freshman forward Nielsen.
 
The six-foot first-year took a few games to feel out the pace of the collegiate game, but the arrow is pointing up after her third straight double-double performance. One night after posting 13 points and 10 rebounds in a win against Penn State-Behrend, Nielsen posted career highs in both categories against the highly touted Polar Bears. She was efficient on the offensive end with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, but her 17 boards—including seven second-chance rebounds—was the more impressive mark.
 
Kratche continued her string of high scoring totals with 23 points and finished a rebound short of a double-double. The talented junior has scored in double-figures in every game this season and is currently third in the CCC in scoring by averaging 17.3 points per game.
 
The Scots held tight with the Polar Bears in the opening 10 minutes of the first half, relying on the low-post play of Nielsen and timely shooting from Clancey Adams (Simsbury, Conn.) to stay within a few points. Bowdoin held an early seven-point lead, but the Scots whittled away at the deficit and brought the game within a basket at 17-15 with exactly 10 minutes to play in the opening stanza.
 
However, the Polar Bears stifled the Fighting Scots down the stretch and ended the first half on a 16-7 run to open an 11-point lead as the teams headed toward the locker rooms. Sara Binkhorst led the Polar Bears with nine points in the first half, while Nielsen led all scorers with 11 points.
 
Bowdoin opened up as much as a 26-point lead in the second half, but the Scots never stopped battling despite only playing six players. Kratche scored seven points in the final two minutes of play to chip away at the Polar Bears' lead, but it wasn't enough to claw all the way back.
 
Megan Phelps was the only Bowdoin player to finish with double-figure scoring, but 12 different players registered a point in the game for the Polar Bears. A total of 16 players tallied at least two minutes of playing time for the deep NESCAC squad.
 
Adams finished off a great weekend in Florida with eight points and seven rebounds to round up the Gordon attack. The Scots outrebounded the Polar Bears 43-36, including a season-high 15 offensive rebounds.
 
Gordon (4-5) will return home searching for their first conference victory of the New Year next Saturday at 3 p.m. on the Bennett Center hardwood against Wentworth.