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BRUNSWICK — Bates coach Alison Montgomery was wearing a Whitney Houston T-shirt under her blazer for a reason Sunday.

Her Bobcats will be dancing with somebody in the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament after defeating Bowdoin, 61-56, in the New England Small College Athletic Conference final at Bowdoin’s Morrell Gymnasium.

Bates earns the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. Bowdoin is in line for an at-large bid. The field will be announced at 2:30 p.m. Monday and both teams could host first-round regionals, as they did in 2024.

The second-seeded Bobcats put the heat on the two-time defending conference champs with a dominant shooting performance beyond the 3-point arc (9 for 15) and a smothering post defense. Junior guard Sarah Hughes led all scorers with a season-high 24 points (7 for 9 shooting, 4 for 5 on 3-pointers) and seven rebounds.

Mya Hicks, a junior guard, added 11 points (2 for 3 from the arc), and senior center Elsa Daulerio chipped in nine points, seven rebounds and five blocks for Bates (24-3).

Sophomore guard Grace Kinum recorded a double-double (16 points, 10 rebounds) for top-seeded Bowdoin (24-2), and junior forward Abbie Quinn contributed 11 points.

“It’s honestly so surreal,” Daulerio said. “This whole weekend, this whole tournament, we’ve just had the vision of winning. We had no doubts in our mind the whole time, but it actually happening was so emotional. We all just broke down there when the buzzer went off. … It’s just so special, there’s so many memories in this gym for me.“

The win was Bates’ first over Bowdoin since Feb. 2, 2024, and its first at Morrell Gymnasium since Dec. 2, 2021.

The Androscoggin River rivals had previously met in five NESCAC finals, with Bowdoin winning all five. This was Bates second conference title and first since 2022.

The first three quarters were back and forth, as the score was tied 16-16 after one and 31-31 at the half.

Neither team led by more than two possessions, until Bates went up 55-43 with 6:16 left in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Hicks from the left wing and step-back three by Hughes. During the tournament, Hughes scored 68 points on a 61.5% shooting clip, her best three-game stretch of the season.

“So confident,” Hughes said. “I mean, we made it to this point. We know that we all put the work in. Why would we take a shot and not think it’s going in?”

Montgomery said her team’s willingness to play intentionally and “finding the extra inch” was crucial, especially as the Polar Bears clawed back to within 60-56 on 3s from Carly Davey (10 points) and Jamie Yue (seven points, five steals).

“Everybody came into this game with their shoulders back,” Montgomery said, “and they were like, ‘If we’re gonna go down, we’re gonna go down boldly, and we’re not gonna be afraid.'”

Bates relied on Daulerio, Petra Kuncz and a swarm of defenders to clog up the lanes whenever Quinn or another Bowdoin post player attempted to work down low. Daulerio blocked three of Quinn’s shots.

After a strong first quarter, Bowdoin’s shooting cooled off. The Polar Bears ended the second quarter 2 of 14 from the field and were scoreless the final 5:16 of the third quarter.

“You never want to lose, you never want to drop a championship, but sometimes you need that to be the fuel to push you through the next couple of weeks,” Bowdoin coach Megan Phelps said. “And I think if this is what we needed to have a great NCAA tournament run, I will trade it.”