MMA, Bates, USM, Bowdoin get berths Four Maine teams make Div. III tourney

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Only 50 teams earn the right to play in the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament. This season, four of them are based in the state of Maine.

New England Small College Athletic Conference powers Bowdoin College of Brunswick and Bates College of Lewiston were awarded first-round byes, while perennial Little East Conference champion, regional power and national contender University of Southern Maine of Gorham and North Atlantic Conference winner Maine Maritime Academy of Castine will meet in a first-round game on Wednesday.

The pairings were announced late Sunday night.

Bowdoin, the 2004 national runner-up, won its fifth straight league title Saturday. The 24-2 Polar Bears, ranked third in the latest D3hoops.com and the ESPN/USA Today polls, play host Friday to the Brockport State-Alvernia winner.

Bates, ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, also finished at 24-2. The Bobcats await the Salem State-Emmanuel winner for a Friday game in Lewiston.

Meanwhile, the 26-2 USM Huskies, ranked Nos. 4 and 5, prepare for a Tuesday night home game against 25-4 MMA, which is not ranked. The winner of that one meets the Colby-Sawyer vs. Ithaca survivor, also on Friday.

Bowdoin Wins NESCAC Title

At Brunswick, Bowdoin College won its fifth straight NESCAC championship and its automatic NCAA tourney bid with a 65-59 win over Bates of Lewiston.

The Polar Bears advanced with Saturday’s 60-48 semifinal victory over Amherst.

In the championship game, Marissa Berne scored a game-high 21 points for the winners. Justine Pouravelis added 16 and Eileen Flaherty had 10.

Olivia Zurek netted 18 points for the Bobcats, while Sarah Barton had 16 and Meg Coffin had 10.

In Saturday’s semifinal game, Pouravelis notched 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Flaherty scored 15 for the Polar Bears.

Matia Kostakis tallied 14 for Amherst, while Kristine Morin and Stefanie Reiff had 13 each.

(Sunday’s Championship Game)

Bates (24-2) 59

Taylor, Coffin 3-4-10, Barton 6-0-16, Zurek 6-6-18, Hochadel 3-1-9, Decato 1-0-3, Schouten 1-0-23, Whiting, Blakeley

Bowdoin (24-2) 65

Loonin 1-0-3, Pouravelis 7-2-16, Cummings 2-0-5, Flaherty 2-6-10, Smith 1-0-2, Berne 7-2-21, Russell 0-2-2, Watson, Nickerson 2-2-6

3-pt. goals: Barton 4, Hochadel 2, Decato, Schouten; Loonin, Cummings, Berne 5

Halftime: Bates 26-20

(Saturday’s Game)

Amherst (15-11) 48

Morin 4-4-13, Pollack 0-1-1, Muller 0-2-2, Kostakis 7-0-14, Latham 2-1-5, Polales, Glazier, Smith, Reiff 5-2-13

Bowdoin (23-2) 60

Loonin 2-1-6, Pouravelis 10-1-21, Cummings 1-3-5, Flaherty 4-7-15, Smith 2-0-4, Russell, Berne 1-0-3, Watson 1-0-3, Nickerson 1-1-3

3-pt. goals: Morin, Reiff; Loonin, Berne, Watson

Halftime: Bowdoin 25-21

Lyndon State wins Sunrise title

At Lyndonville, Vt., Jamie Rosso had 20 points and seven rebounds Sunday to help push Lyndon State College past the University of Maine-Machias 77-76 to win the Sunrise Conference championship.

In Sunday’s championship game, Alicia Shedd had 18 points and eight rebounds for Lyndon State. Rachel Maxwell scored 13 points and Nichole Arel added 12.

Kelly Welles had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead UM-Machias and Sara Ricker added 12 points.

In Saturday’s first semifinal, Welles had 25 points and 15 rebounds to help the Clippers beat the College of Saint Joseph (Vt.) 63-53. Ricker added 16 points.

Molly Neider scored 28 points for the College of St. Joseph and Liz Arbelaez had 14.

In Saturday’s second semifinal, Rosso had 13 points and five assists to lead Lyndon State past UMaine-Fort Kent 79-63.

Maxwell and Arel each scored 13 points for Lyndon State. Kate Powell had 12 points and Alicia Shedd added 11.

Heidi Fisher led the Bengals with 15 points. Melissa Hare scored 12 points and Allison Lutz added 10 points.

(Sunday’s Championship Game)

Lyndon State 77

Arel 3-4-12, Rosso 5-8-20, Dickinson 1-2-5, Shedd 7-3-18, Maxwell 6-1-13, Powell 2-3-7, Prouty 1-0-2, Morehouse, Rifenburgh, Hoyt

UM-Machias 67

Rich 3-2-9, LaRochelle 1-0-2, Richardson 3-0-6, Apatu 3-2-8, Qualey 3-0-8, Welles 5-6-16, Ricker 5-2-12, Smith 2-2-6, Heller, Wells, Vega, Porteus

3-pt. goals: Arel 2, Rosso 2, Dickinson, Shedd; Qualey 2, Rich

Halftime: Lyndon State 39-37

(Saturday’s First Semifinal)

College of St. Joseph 53

Maciariello 1-1-4, Arbelaez 5-4-14, Neider 12-1-28, Guetti 1-0-2, Crossman, DiManno 1-0-2, March 1-1-3

UM-Machias 63

Rich 1-1-3, LaRochelle 1-0-2, Richardson 2-0-4, Apatu 3-0-7, Qualey 1-0-2, Welles 8-9-25, Ricker 5-6-16, Smith 2-0-4, Heller

3-pt. goals: Maciariello, Neider 3; Apatu

Halftime: UMM 34-29

(Saturday’s Second Semifinal)

UM-Fort Kent 63

Quint 1-0-3, Lemon 2-3-7, Welch 3-0-6, Hare 4-0-12, Hichborn 3-0-6, Zettergren 1-0-2, Fisher 7-1-15, Lutz 5-0-10, Gagnon 1-0-2, Brassard, Boucher

Lyndon State 79

Arel 4-4-13, Rosso 4-4-13, Hoyt 4-0-8, Dickinson 1-0-2, Shedd 4-2-11, Maxwell 5-2-13, Powell 6-0-12, Prouty 3-0-7, Morehouse, Rifenburgh

3-pt. goals: Hare 4, Quint; Arel, Rosso, Shedd, Maxwell, Prouty

Halftime: Lyndon State 37-33

Southern Maine 68, Keene 29

At Gorham, Megan Myles scored 18 points to lead the Huskies to a win over Keene State in Saturday’s championship game of the Little East Conference Tournament.

Ashley Marble added 12 points for the Huskies.

Stacey Morse netted seven for Keene State (N.H.).

Keene State (17-11) 29

Mechare 1-0-3, Hopkins 1-0-2, Morse 3-0-7, Begnoche 2-0-4, Barnes 2-1-5, Graveley 1-0-2, Crawford, Daniels, Davis, Emmons 0-2-2, Lane, Jamiel 2-0-4

Southern Maine (26-2) 68

Sibley 0-5-5, Marble 2-8-12, Frost 2-0-6, Jones 4-0-9, Myles 6-4-18, Cowing 1-2-4, Thibaudeau 1-1-3, Ross, Sylvain 2-2-7, Martin, Kynoch, Welch, Krausse 2-0-4, Samuelson

3-pt. goals: Mechare, Morse; Frost 2, Myles 2, Jones, Sylvain

Halftime: USM 32-21

Saint Joseph’s 70, Newbury 67

At Standish on Saturday, Val Dumais led the way for the Monks, scoring 25 points as they earned the Division III Independents Northeast Regional Championship.

Margaret Blauvelt notched 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Laura Pelkey added 11 points for Saint Joseph’s.

Shanisha Mitchell paced Newbury with 18 points and Randi Hardiman scored 16.

Newbury (9-18) 67

Laliberty 1-4-6, Mitchell 7-4-18, Larrabee 3-4-10, White 2-2-6, Hardiman 6-2-16, Laws, Gagnon 4-1-11

St. Joseph’s (16-11) 70

Regula 3-1-7, Pelkey 2-6-11, Tetrault 2-2-6, Dumais 8-7-25, Blauvelt 5-4-14, Coffin 3-1-7, Rauscher, Farrell

3-pt. goals: Hardiman 2, Gagnon 2; Pelkey, Dumais 2

Halftime: St. Joseph’s 34-26