Bowdoin, USM women garner NCAA berths Husson to play in ECAC tourney

While they won’t enjoy the home-court advantage that has been almost routine for them during the last several years, the women’s basketball teams at the University of Southern Maine and Bowdoin College are nonetheless preparing for appearances this week in the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship.

USM of Gorham (25-3) and Bowdoin of Brunswick (18-8) each earned an at-large bid into the 63-team event. There are 423 Division III programs in the country.

The Huskies travel to Union, N.J., for Friday’s 5:30 p.m. game against Brandeis. The Polar Bears head to Amherst, Mass., where they’ll face Bridgewater State on Friday at a time yet to be determined.

In Division III men’s postseason news, Husson College of Bangor has been selected to compete in the ECAC Division III New England Championship.

Coach Warren Caruso’s Eagles (17-10), the North Atlantic Conference runners-up, earned the No. 5 seed in the eight-team tournament and play at No. 4 Fitchburg State (16-9) Wednesday at 8 p.m.

If Husson wins, it would face the winner of the game between top seed Emerson and No. 8 University of New England of Biddeford in a Saturday semifinal. The title game is slated for Sunday at the home court of the highest remaining seed.

Bowdoin College also is sending its men’s squad to the NCAA Division III tournament. The Polar Bears (21-6), who earned an at-large bid, are making the program’s first NCAA appearance since 1999.

The Bowdoin men take on Curry (18-10) in a Friday afternoon quarterfinal at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.

Bowdoin and USM are among 12 New England women’s teams to earn spots in the NCAA field. The others are North Atlantic Conference titlist Becker College, along with Brandeis, Bridgewater State, Colby-Sawyer, Eastern Connecticut, Emmanuel, Salem State, Tufts and Wheaton.

Coach Gary Fifield’s Huskies, who had their 11-year Little East Conference championship streak snapped Saturday by Eastern Connecticut, are in the NCAA field for the 14th consecutive year dating back to 1995.

USM, ranked 11th in the latest WBCA/USA Today coaches poll and 13th in last week’s d3hoops.com poll, has qualified for NCAA tournament play in 22 of its 23 seasons since moving up from the NAIA ranks in 1985.

Coming into this season, coach Stefanie Pemper’s Bowdoin team was the most dominating Division III women’s program in the nation. The Polar Bears had their string of seven straight New England Small College Athletic Conference titles snapped last weekend in a semifinal loss at Amherst.

Bowdoin has made six consecutive NCAA Elite 8 appearances and has been to six straight Sweet 16’s.

Thirty-nine women’s teams received automatic NCAA bids by virtue of winning their respective league championships, while the other 21 participants are awarded at-large bids.

pwarner@bangordailynews.net

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