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GORHAM – There is no substitute for big-game experience. And playing on your home court doesn’t hurt, either.
The University of Southern Maine faltered a bit Friday night as Bates College wiped out a 20-point deficit in the second half. But the Huskies made the clutch plays late in regulation and again in overtime while pulling out a thrilling 67-64 victory in their NCAA Division III Sweet 16 game at jam-packed (2,000 fans) Hill Gymnasium.
Coach Gary Fifield’s 29-2 Huskies advanced to tonight’s 7 o’clock Elite Eight game against 24-4 Wesleyan, a 62-56 winner over Springfield in Friday’s first game.
The Bobcats of Jim Murphy ended an outstanding season at 26-3.
Southern Maine, which has won a school-record 27 games, avenged a 61-37 loss to Bates in Lewiston on Nov. 23. It was making its sixth straight Sweet 16 appearance, but advanced for the first time since 2000.
“I think it helped our previous two games we had to stay composed right down to the last minute and I think those are huge minutes that we stayed composed and that helped a lot in this game,” said USM’s Megan Myles.
Bates appeared to have USM on the ropes late in the contest. The Bobcats had trailed 35-15 at one point, but turned up the defensive intensity while beginning its comeback.
Meg Coffin scored a baseline layup off an Olivia Zurek steal to give Bates a 55-50 lead with 1:46 remaining in regulation.
“I obviously was extremely proud of the players and the way they came back,” said Bates coach Jim Murphy. “It would have been easy to fold, but we kept plugging away.”
USM finally broke the hex when Katie Frost, who had been cold from the perimeter, buried a 3-pointer with 1:20 left.
“When Katie Frost hit that 3, I think that gave us a little bit more life at that point,” Fifield said.
With the game hanging in the balance, Trish Sylvain snuck in and rebounded the second of two missed foul shots by Ashley Marble and was fouled with 17.1 seconds to play.
“To me that was the key, key play of the whole game,” Murphy said.
Sylvain made both to send the game into OT.
“I was thinking I have to make these if I want to be on this court tomorrow,” Sylvain said.
In the extra period, the Huskies took the upper hand (60-56) on Myles’ baseline basket and two Marble foul shots. Bates crept back within a point, but Myles drained a 3-pointer with 1:57 remaining to give the hosts a four-point lead.
USM preserved the lead when Frost stripped the ball from Betsy Hochadel on a baseline take and Donna Cowing alertly tracked down the rebound and called timeout while falling out of bounds.
Sylvain then hit one foul shot before Sarah Barton’s 3-point try at the buzzer came up short.
“They responded down the stretch and refused to quit,” Fifield said.
Myles paced USM with a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds. Marble posted 13 points and 17 boards, while Cowing tossed in 16 points with four assists and four steals. Frost added six points and eight assists.
Zurek led Bates with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Barton tossed in 13 points and Coffin added 11.
Coffin had scored four points during an extended 9-0 run that trimmed USM’s advantage to 42-32 with 11:27 to play. The Huskies got out of synch offensively and began experiencing some shooting woes.
“I think we got caught trying to hold onto a lead,” Fifield said. “We were very tentative, stopped attacking. Everything we were running was sets, walking the ball down the floor.”
In the meantime, the Bobcats rebounded hard and executed at the offensive end. They kept charging, later rattling off eight straight points to turn a six-point deficit into a 51-48 edge with 3:18 to play.
The Huskies energized the home crowd and silenced the Bobcats’ faithful with a furious surge coming out of the opening tip.
HUSKIES 67, BOBCATS 64 (OT)
Bates (25-3) Southern Maine (29-2)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Taylor 4 6 1 1 9 Cowing 7 11 16
Coffin 4 9 3 4 11 Sibley 1 3 4
Barton 5 12 1 2 13 Marble 5 10 13
Zurek 4 11 8 13 16 Frost 2 9 6
Hockadel 1 8 3 4 6 Myles 8 18 23
Decato 1 7 1 2 3 Welch 0 2 0
Schouten 1 4 0 0 3 Sylvain 1 3 5
Hart 0 0 0 0 0 Kynoch 0 2 0 0
Whiting 1 3 1 2 3
Totals 21 60 18 28 64 24 58 13 22 67
Bates 21 55 64
Southern Maine 36 55 67
3-pt. goals – Bates (4-20): Barton 2-6, Schouten 1-4, Hockadel 1-5, Whiting 0-1, Decato 0-4; USM (6-21): Myles 4-7, Frost 2-8, Sibley 0-1, Welch 0-2, Cowing 0-3
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