With the win the Huskies improve to 29-2 and advance to their first Elite Eight since the 2000 season and will play Springfield College, Saturday at 7 p.m. for the Sectional Championship and the right to advance to "Final Four". Tomorrow’s game will mark the Huskies ninth appearance in Elite Eight in program history. Bates ends its season with a school record mark of 25-3.
After shooting a shaky 26.7 percent in the second half on just 8-of-30 shooting and relinquishing a 15-point halftime lead, Southern Maine overcame a five-point deficit in the final 1:47 of regulation to send the game into overtime.
Following a lay-up from the Bobcat’s sophomore center Meg Coffin (Westford, Mass.) to put Bates ahead 55-50, capping a 16-2 run by the Bobcats, Southern Maine junior guard Katie Frost (Calais, Maine/Calais) drained her second three pointer of the game to cut the Bobcats lead to two, 55-53 with 1:24 on the clock. Frost then came up with a huge steal when she knocked the ball out of hands of Bates senior guard Heather Taylor (Nobleboro, Maine) who had just corralled an offensive rebound off of a missed lay-up from Coffin with 31 seconds to play. Coffin fouled Husky junior forward Ashley Marble (Topsfield, Maine/Woodland) in Southern Maine’s ensuing possession to put Marble on the line for two as the Huskies trailed 55-53 with 20 seconds to play. Marble, normally a steady shooter from the charity stripe, missed both of her attempts, but freshman guard Trish Sylvain (Weare, N.H./New Hampton) came up with an offensive board and calmly drilled both of her free throws after being fouled by Bates’ Olivia Zurek (Arlington, Mass.) to knot the score up at 55 all with 18 seconds to play. Bates’ Annie Whiting (Contoocook, N.H.) had a look at the basket for the game winner but was off the mark and Myles snagged the defensive rebound as the buzzer sounded signifying overtime.
In the overtime period, both teams traded one free throw apiece to stand at 56 all with 4:12 on the clock, before Myles finished a lay-up off an assist from junior guard Donna Cowing (Weeks Mills, Maine/Erskine) and Marble knocked down two free throws after grabbing an offensive rebound to give the Huskies a four-point edge, 60-56 with 3:26 to play.
A minute later, Bates cut the Huskies lead to 1, 60-61, following two free throws a piece from Zurek and senior forward Betsy Hochadel (Portland, Maine), but the Huskies were again given room to breath when Myles spotted up for her fourth three-pointer of the night for a 64-60 lead with 2:02 to go.
Bates again cut the lead to a single possession with under a minute to play following an offensive rebound and a put-back from freshman guard Sarah Barton (Portsmouth, N.H.) and one of two free throws from Zurek, but the Huskies increased their defensive pressure to secure the win.
Frost claimed her third steal of the evening when she poked the ball away from Hochadel and Cowing grabbed the loose ball while diving out of bounds and called time out to give USM the possession with eight seconds to play and a 66-64 lead.
Forced to foul, Zurek collected her fifth foul of the game, and sent the Huskies Sylvain to the line. Sylvain hit for one of two free throws and Bates’ Barton missed a desperation three as the buzzer sounded for the 67-64 final.
Myles led three Huskies in double-figure scoring as Cowing added 16 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field and Marble posted her 10th double-double of the season with 13 points and a game-high 17 rebounds. Cowing added four assists and four steals. Frost had a steady floor game for the Huskies notching eight assist to compliment her six points and three steals.
Zurek led the Bobcats with a double-double of her own on 16 points and 16 rebounds, while Barton added 13 points and Coffin chipped in with 11.
Both teams had at least one half of play in which they struggled offensively. Southern Maine finished the game shooting 41.4 percent ,despite its second half woes, shooting 24-of-58 from the floor. Bates, who shot just 21.4 percent from the field in the opening stanza, ended the game shooting 35 percent on a 21-for-60 effort.