Shelley Gott-Stilwell’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer Wednesday night against NCAA Division III top-ranked Bowdoin College may have done more for the Maine Maritime Academy’s women’s basketball team than merely the win that lifted the Mariners of Castine to 14-0 this season.

It may provide MMA more attention and recognition on a national level.

The victory at Morrell Gymnasium in Brunswick – where Bowdoin had a 76-game winning streak until Maine Maritime earned a 51-49 upset on Gott-Stilwell’s stunning shot – could even garner the unranked Mariners a few votes in one or both of the national Div. III women’s basketball polls.

“If this doesn’t give us some respect, the hell with them,” MMA coach Craig Dagan said after Wednesday’s game. “I don’t know what’s going to [impress voters]. I really don’t.”

Despite entering the matchup against the Polar Bears with a 13-0 record, Maine Maritime was the only undefeated team in the country to receive no votes in either the D3Hoops.com or the USA Today/ESPN/WBCA poll. Bowdoin, meanwhile, was also undefeated (15-0) but ranked No. 1 in both polls. Three other undefeated teams were ranked.

Bowdoin coach Stefanie Pemper, who is a member of the USA Today/ESPN Board of Coaches for 2006-07, isn’t sure where – if at all – the Mariners should fall in a poll.

“I think they’re definitely one of the best teams in New England,” she said. “We thought that coming into the game. It’s just, you know, they’re tucked up there [in Castine], they don’t play the toughest schedule, their conference isn’t as strong as some others, and so you don’t realize that they’re as good as they are.

“I always say there’s probably 10 teams that have a chance, if things go right, of winning a national championship,” Pemper added. “Are they in that 10? I don’t know. On any given night, I don’t know.”

It’s not necessarily the Mariners themselves that are being called into question. Rather, it’s their schedule and the North Atlantic Conference that are likely being considered by poll voters.

The NAC, which also includes the University of Maine-Farmington, Husson College of Bangor, and Thomas College of Waterville, isn’t considered as strong from top to bottom as other conferences.

Bowdoin plays in the more competitive NESCAC, which sent three teams to the NCAA Div. III tournament last year. Bowdoin made it to the Elite Eight, Williams advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, and Bates lost to Bridgewater (Va.) in the first round.

MMA and UMF both made it to the tourney, although neither advanced out of the first round. The University of Southern Maine, which was the national runner-up and plays in the Little East Conference, beat the Mariners 81-41.

“People can say [what they want] about our conference, who we play, and honestly I think it’s BS,” Dagan said. “We can only play the teams that are on our schedule and with where we are, we play as many quality teams locally as possible, but Castine’s a long ways away from Connecticut and those types of places.”

MMA’s 29.5 points per game scoring margin ranks second in the nation, which is an indication of a relatively easy schedule. The Mariners have played in some incredibly lopsided games this year, including a 113-16 season-opening win over New York Maritime and an 89-33 conference victory over Elms of Chicopee, Mass.

However, scoring margin is also an indication of a team’s strength, and nine of the teams ranked in the top 10 for scoring margin, including Bowdoin (fourth, 24.0 ppg), are ranked in at least one of the polls. The only other school not in either poll is 9-4 Philadelphia Biblical (seventh, 22.8 ppg).

“We don’t play very many good teams and it’s nice to come in and beat a really good team,” said Gott-Stilwell, a Tremont native who was a standout at Mount Desert Island High School.

The Mariners’ next shot at a ranking – or even a vote – comes with next week’s polls. The USA Today/ESPN poll is due to be released Tuesday, while the next D3hoops poll will include games through Sunday.

Dagan knows the rankings are beyond his team’s control.

“We play the teams we play, we go about our business the right way, and so that’s up to them to decide,” he said.