Top-ranked Bowdoin College defeated the Yellowjackets, 61-46, in the championship game of the Chuck Resler Tournament at the Palestra on Saturday evening.

The Polar Bears, who reached the NCAA Division III National Championship Game last season, used two scoring runs in the second half to turn the game in their favor.

Rochester held a commanding 24-9 edge on the boards in the first half but the Yellowjacket lead was just one because Bowdoin's high-pressure defense produced a dozen points off turnovers.

Bowdoin ran off an 11-0 spurt to start the second half and built a 34-24 lead. The lead hovered in the teens and peaked at 16, 48-32, before the Yellowjackets battled back and got the crowd of 700 into it.

Rochester assembled a 12-2 run over four minutes to pull within 50-44 with 3:40 left. The primary scorer in the run was senior forward Kelly Wescott with seven of her team-high nine points. Emily Bango drilled a three-pointer and assisted on a layup by Danielle Muller.

Bowdoin surrendered the ball again and the Yellowjackets surged upcourt, trying to cut it under five. Jessie Graham's three point try out of the left corner was off target. Bowdoin took the team rebound, reorganized, and put together an 11-2 run to close the game.

Wescott and Graham were named to the All-Tournament Team along with Jessica Chambers of Geneseo and Theresa DiMedio of The College of New Jersey. Eileen Flaherty of Bowdoin made the team with 13 points, six rebounds, and two steals in 29 minutes. The MVP was Bowdoin's Katie Cummings. She scored 12 points, handed out four assists, and recorded four steals.