BANGOR – Bowdoin College women’s basketball coach Stefanie Pemper scheduled Husson to give Bangor High School graduate Alison Smith the opportunity to play a game in front of her family and friends.

Smith played a solid game Tuesday night, but she’ll have to excuse teammate Erika Nickerson for stealing the limelight.

Nickerson, a sophomore from Benton, scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds while powering Bowdoin to a 76-41 victory over Husson at Newman Gym.

The Polar Bears, ranked sixth in the latest D3hoops.com national Division III poll, improved to 8-1. Bowdoin made it happen with a swarming zone press, effective transition offense and a dominating rebounding effort.

Nickerson said Bowdoin didn’t look past Husson, especially in light of the Polar Bears’ early season play.

“We try to make it a point to not underestimate anybody,” Nickerson said.

“I think especially where we lost our last game, coming out in this game and getting some confidence back, feeling good about ourselves, is important,” she added.

The Polar Bears, coming off their first loss of the season Saturday at Cal. State-Hayward, capitalized on their tenacious defense with numerous transition baskets and showed off unselfish team play in the process.

A youthful Husson squad, now 2-8, had difficulty negotiating the pressure and running its offense. The Braves, who also encountered a 2-3 zone and some man-to-man, committed 16 first-half turnovers.

“They do a good job of changing up [defenses],” said Husson coach Harold Williams. “I don’t think in the second half we did a good job adjusting to that. That’s a great team.”

Nickerson, a 6-foot sophomore forward, was effective running the floor and also converted her chances in the paint to give Bowdoin an inside force for which the Braves had no answer.

“She’s very fast, very athletic,” Pemper said of Nickerson. “She does a nice job of running the floor hard and looking for the ball. Her teammates have confidence in her.”

Former George Stevens Academy star Lora Trenkle of Surry provided nine points for the winners, while Stockton Springs’ Smith and Kristi Royer of Lewiston added eight points each. Bowdoin emerged with a 48-24 advantage on the boards.

Freshman guard Holly Gracie of Frankfort sparkled for Husson, tossing in 20 points. Megan Hughes of Dexter added nine for the hosts, who welcomed back junior center Liz Boone of Brewer, who sat out the first semester because of a rigorous academic schedule.

Husson hung tough during the first 10 minutes, taking an 18-16 lead on a Hughes 3-pointer at the 10:38 mark. But the Polar Bears answered with a decisive 14-0 scoring run and turned it into a 23-4 surge.

Bowdoin, employing a trapping 1-3-1 press, forced Husson into 10 turnovers during the last 10 minutes of the half. The Braves went scoreless for more than 61/2 minutes, while the Polar Bears scored a handful of layups off steals while pulling out to a 41-22 advantage.

“We’ve been working on [the press] this season and we’ve done it at various points, but we haven’t kept it on the whole game like we did tonight,” Nickerson said. “It just seemed to be especially effective.”

Nickerson poured in 13 points to spark the Bowdoin run, capping it with a conventional three-point play at the 1:15 mark of the first half.

POLAR BEARS 76, BRAVES 41

Bowdoin (8-1) Husson (2-8)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Trotta 1 3 0 0 3 Mullenix 0 2

Trenkle 4 6 0 0 9 Comeau 0 4 1

Royer 4 11 0 0 8 Hughes 3 9 9

Smith 4 10 0 2 8 Gracie 8 15 20

Nickerson 9 12 5 7 23 Turner 1 1 2

Withey 0 6 0 0 0 Berard 0 2 0

Bramwell 2 3 0 0 4 S. Fry 0 2 0

Reuben 3 4 0 2 6 Davis 1 2 3

Damon 0 2 0 0 0 Poirier 1 3 2

Russell 2 3 0 1 5 O’Brien 0 0 0

Watson 0 1 0 0 0 C. Fry 0 0 0

Fugate 1 2 0 0 2 Boone 0 2 2

Pellegrini 2 6 2 2 6

Leuer 0 1 2 2 2

Totals 32 70 9 16 76 Totals 14 45 13 41

Bowdoin 41 76

Husson 24 41

3-pt. goals ? Bowdoin (3-12): Withey 0-1, Trotta 1-3, Russell 1-1, Trenkle 1-3, Watson 0-1, Royer 0-2, Fugate 0-1; Husson (4-10): Mullenix 0-2, Berard 0-1, Hughes 2-2, Davis 1-1, Gracie 1-4

Attendance: 125 (est.)