SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College women's basketball team couldn't rally after an early deficit, dropping its 2017-18 season opener to No. 23 Bowdoin, 76-42, in the first night of the 41^st Skidmore Invitational, at the Williamson Sports Center Friday evening.

Skidmore drops its opener for the first time since 2015. It was also the first game of the season for Bowdoin, ranked 23^rd in the preseason WBCA national polls.

Kelly Donnelly was the lone double-digit scorer for the Thoroughbreds, scoring 11 points. She added seven rebounds and a pair of assists. Veronica Moceri added eight points on a 4-for-5 performance from the charity stripe, while Jessica Centore and Lilly Berg each chipped in seven points off the bench.

Kate Kerrigan led the Polar Bears with 13 points, shooting 5-for-10 from the field. Abby Kelly added 12, while Taylor Choate and Lauren Petit chipping in 11 each.

Bowdoin jumped out to a 12-2 advantage, holding Skidmore to just 25 percent shooting in the quarter, as they exited the quarter with a 23-9 lead. The Polar Bears pushed the advantage to 21, shooting 45 percent in the opening half. Bowdoin pushed the lead to as many as 39 in the third, before the Thoroughbreds outscored Bowdoin 12-9 in the final frame.

Bowdoin held the Thoroughbreds to 31.4 percent shooting from the field, including 0-for-8 from beyond the arc.

"We are going to be all right," said Skidmore head coach Darren Bennett. "Tonight we ran into a tremendous team that will no doubt go deep into the NCAA tournament.
 
"Our journey will take some time but it will be a full season journey and we're going to be a very very strong team when it's all said and done.  It's great to play these really tough teams early in the season to gain a litmus of where we are as a team and to make some changes and adjustments along the way.
 
"We're certainly excited about what we have in store for the rest of the season. We saw some good things tonight from young players, especially our inside game.  They did some really nice things tonight, Lilly Berg in particular.
 
"Our guards were not able to gain much traction and every time we tried to make a little bit of a run and score a couple of baskets Bowdoin would come right back with a slew of threes. At one point I think they made three or four maybe even five 3-point baskets in a row. It's hard for any team to keep up when the other team is shooting extremely well like that and efficient.  Bowdoin is a great team well coached and well led and I look forward to watching their season this year, but again I'm really excited about what we've got in store for the season ahead."

The Thoroughbreds will wrap up the Invitational on Saturday with an afternoon matchup against Connecticut College (2 p.m.), while Bowdoin takes on St. Thomas in the final (4 p.m.).