Women's Basketball

Bowdoin Secures the Top Seed in the 2026 NESCAC Women's Basketball Championship

HADLEY, Mass. – For the third consecutive season, Bowdoin secured the top seed for the NESCAC Women’s Basketball Championship. The Polar Bears finished the regular season with a 10-0 record in league play and are the first team to go undefeated in back-to-back NESCAC seasons since Amherst in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
 
The 2026 tournament begins with quarterfinal action on Saturday, February 21, at the higher seeds. The four quarterfinal winners advance to the semifinal round on Saturday, February 28, at the highest remaining seed. The championship game is set for Sunday, March 1, at the site of the semifinal games.

HOW TO WATCH
All games will be webcast via the NESCAC Network for free and available at NESCAC.com on computers and mobile devices. The webcasts can also be seen on Roku, AppleTV, and Amazon Fire devices. Search for NESCAC Network and download the channel. Click here for more information.

CHAMPIONSHIP GEAR


CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY | Past Champions
Bowdoin is the defending NESCAC Champion after winning the conference crown for the second straight year in 2025. The Polar Bears lead the conference with 11 NESCAC Championships and are one of four teams to have garnered a conference crown (Bowdoin, Amherst, Tufts, Bates).

Tiebreakers
  • Trinity, Williams, and Connecticut College finished with identical conference records of 5-5. In head-to-head competition, Trinity went 2-0, Williams went 1-1, and Connecticut College went 0-2. Trinity is the No. 4 seed, Williams earned the No. 5 seed, and Connecticut College finishes as the No. 6 seed.
  • Hamilton and Tufts finished with identical conference records of 4-6. In head-to-head competition, Hamilton defeated Tufts to earn the No. 7 seed.
No. 1 Bowdoin Polar Bears (22-1, 10-0 NESCAC) vs. No. 8 Tufts Jumbos (13-11, 4-6 NESCAC)
  • Bowdoin is the No. 1 seed for the third consecutive season and 10th time in program history.
  • The Polar Bears are the two-defending NESCAC Champions and own 11 titles overall, the most by a conference team.
  • Bowdoin is making its 25th consecutive appearance in the NESCAC Tournament.
  • This season, the Polar Bears have won their games by an average of 17.8 points per game and limited opponents to a league-low 48.7 points per game.
  • Tufts is the No. 8 seed for the first time since 2023.
  • The Jumbos are making their 24th appearance in the tournament, 22 consecutive.
  • Tufts last played in the semifinal round in 2023.
  • Bowdoin defeated Tufts, 76-60, in the second conference game of the season on January 9.
  • The NESCAC Tournament series is knotted at 6-6. The Polar Bears handed Tufts a 78-60 loss in the 2024 quarterfinals the last time the teams met in the conference championship.
No. 2 Bates Bobcats (21-3, 8-2 NESCAC) vs. No. 7 Hamilton Continentals (12-12, 4-6 NESCAC)
  • Bates has qualified for the tournament for the sixth year in a row and is the No. 2 seed for the first time since 2005.
  • The Bobcats have played in two of the last four championship games and won their lone NESCAC title in 2022.
  • Bates has the highest scoring offense in the league at 67.5 points per game and is limiting opponents to 53 points per game (2nd in the NESCAC). The Bobcats also lead the league in opponent 3-point field goal percentage (24.5%).
  • Bates enters the tournament having won eight of its last nine games.
  • Hamilton is making its seventh NESCAC Tournament appearance and fifth in six years.
  • The Continentals are looking for their first NESCAC Tournament win in team history.
  • The Bobcats posted a 69-60 win over Hamilton on January 11. The teams have met just once in the NESCAC postseason, with Bates winning 66-50 in the 2024 quarterfinals.
No. 3 Amherst Mammoths (17-7, 6-4 NESCAC) vs. No. 6 Conn. College Camels (14-9, 5-5 NESCAC)
  • Amherst is the No. 3 seed for the first time since 2021.
  • The Mammoths extend their streak to 21 straight NESCAC Tournament appearances and 23 overall.
  • Amherst, which has eight NESCAC titles in team history, will host a quarterfinal game for the second straight season.
  • The Mammoths, who have reached the semifinals twice in the last four tournaments, are limiting opponents to 34.0 percent shooting to pace NESCAC teams.
  • Conn. College is No. 6 seed for the first time since 2018 and is making its ninth tournament appearance, first since 2022.
  • The Camels’ 14 wins are the most since the 2017-18 season.
  • Conn. College enters the tournament having won three of its last five games.
  • Amherst defeated the Camels, 65-38, on February 7. The quarterfinal matchup is the first meeting between the teams in the NESCAC Tournament.
No. 4 Trinity Bantams (16-8, 5-5 NESCAC) vs. No. 5 Williams Ephs (12-12, 5-5 NESCAC)
  • Trinity is the No. 4 seed for the first time since 2019.
  • The Bantams are making their eighth straight appearance in the NESCAC Tournament.
  • Trinity reached the semifinals each of the last four years and played for the title in 2023.
  • The Bantams are the top-rebounding team in the conference, averaging 44.6 caroms per contest.
  • Williams has qualified for the NESCAC Tournament 24 times and is the No. 5 seed for the first time since 2012.
  • The Ephs’ last semifinal appearance was in 2023.
  • Williams enters the NESCAC Championship having won three of its last five games, including back-to-back wins on the final weekend of the regular season.
  • Trinity posted a 76-63 win over Williams on January 10. Trinity owns a 2-1 edge in the tournament series. The last meeting was the 2023 semifinals, where Trinity earned a 60-42 win.