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Sunday, November 27, 2005
Not far from the top
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Also on this page: THE BIG 3 IN DIVISION III | |||||||||||||
If you start at the University of Southern Maine campus, drive past the four restaurants (Mexican, Chinese, two Italian) in Gorham Center and head to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, 38 miles away. From there, take Route 196 and cruise into Lewiston, and Bates College; a quick, 20-mile trip. Leave Bates and hop onto the Maine Turnpike. Exit at Westbrook and head back to USM's Gorham campus, adding another 40 miles to the odometer. For a round trip that stretched 98 miles, you just took a tour of three of the best Division III women's basketball programs in the nation. In the preseason USA Today poll, Bowdoin was ranked No. 2, USM No. 3 and Bates No. 10. That is actually a dip from last year when USM, Bowdoin and Bates finished the season ranked Nos. 2, 3 and 4, respectively. And they are all within a short drive of each other. Few spots in the nation feature such a congestion of Division III women's basketball powers. Boston, Minneapolis and the Buffalo/Rochester area showcase strong teams, but also are much more populous areas. "I think it's great for Maine and for Maine women's basketball in general to have such quality programs," USM Coach Gary Fifield said. "More people can get exposed to what the top of Division III is like." But what is it like, and how do you get there? "We all have good players," Bates Coach Jim Murphy said. "It's as simple as that." Simple? Yes and no. All three programs feature top talent, but in the landscape known as Division III, the key is how to attract that talent without the use of scholarships. Division I schools, like the University of Maine, can offer 15 full scholarships for their women's basketball team. Division II schools, of which there are none in Maine, can offer 10. Division III schools cannot offer athletic scholarships. They invite players on the team. Financial aid may be offered, like it would be to any other student, based on need and/or academic merit. At Bowdoin and Bates, tuition, room and board is around $40,000 a year. Still, Bowdoin and Bates attract good athletes, as does USM. They have utilized the strengths of their schools, while tapping into the richness of women's basketball in the Northeast, including Maine, where the popularity of girls' basketball generates quality players. A WINNING CYCLE The key to success of any Division III program is a winning tradition provided by a good, stable coaching situation. At USM, Fifield took over a successful program from Richard Costello in 1987 and improved it. The Huskies are annual participants in the NCAA tournament, and Fifield has brought them to four NCAA final fours, and two title games. "When you see that USM has averaged about 27 wins a year, that's attractive," Bowdoin Coach Stefanie Pemper said. Pemper has created her own powerhouse in a short time. Bowdoin, like Bates, is a member of the New England Small College Athletic Conference, which did not allow its teams in NCAA tournaments until 1993. The Bowdoin women had not played in an NCAA tournament until Pemper arrived for the 1998-99 season. On Pemper's watch, the Polar Bears have reached the NCAA tournament six of seven years, including a trip to the title game in 2004. "The emergence of Bates and Bowdoin," said Fifield, "has come in the last five to eight years. Some of it has to do with the philosophical change of the NESCAC. They realized you can be a great school academically and athletically. "And some of it has to do with the quality of their hires." If Bowdoin is happy with Pemper, Bates must also be thrilled with its coach, Jim Murphy. When Murphy returned to Bates, his alma mater, in 1994, he was the Bobcats' fourth coach in four years. Fourteen of the previous 17 seasons featured losing records. Since Murphy came, Bates has been to the NCAA tournament five times, including two Sweet Sixteen appearances. The Bobcats finished 25-3 last year and were considered a contender for the national title until they were upset by USM in the NCAA tournament. Bates best returning player is center Meg Coffin. She said she picked Bates, "because I loved the feel of the school . . . and Coach Murphy." Because of their success, Fifield, Pemper and Murphy would be candidates for jobs at bigger programs. Pemper, for example, was a finalist for the University of Maine opening last spring, until she withdrew her name from consideration. But they've opted for the comfort factor at their own schools. Players notice that. "Once I started looking (at Bowdoin), I did some research on Stef," said Maria Noucas, a freshman guard from Portsmouth, N.H. "She obviously could have moved on. When you ask her why she has stayed here, she lists for about five minutes all the awesome things about Bowdoin. It's really hard to turn that down." ATTRACTIVE SCHOOLS When Coffin, of Medford, Mass., was looking for a college, she already decided to pass up scholarships from Division II schools. She narrowed her choices to NESCAC schools, which include some of the finest liberal arts colleges in the country. (Bates was ranked 21st in U.S. News & World Report's annual listing.) Bowdoin, which is ranked No. 6 by the magazine, is also a draw. Marisa Berne of Falmouth was being recruited by Division II schools. Then Pemper called. "I was so flattered," said Berne, now a Bowdoin sophomore. "Growing up in Maine, I've always known that Bowdoin has such a good reputation. At Bowdoin, I knew I would get great academics, and a great basketball team." Berne is one of three Mainers on the Bowdoin roster, along with Justine Pouravelis of Old Orchard Beach and Rockport's Lauren Withey. Bates has only one Mainer, Kyla Decato of Paris. "That is not by choice," said Murphy, who graduated two Mainers last year. "Maine has very, very good high school basketball." But schools like Bates and Bowdoin, with their selective admission requirements and expensive tuition, are not magnets for many Mainers. But USM is. Tuition, room and board for in-state students is around $12,000. "USM is not only attractive to the kids, but to their parents who pay the bills," Pemper said. The Huskies' roster features nine Mainers. Fifield said the out-of-state players usually have some connection to Maine, or were referred to Fifield. Center Shannon Kynoch came to USM from South Burlington, Vt. Fifield is originally from Vermont and still knows much about the players there. USM is not the only school filling up with Mainers. Maine Maritime, which reached the NCAA tournament for the first time last year, is an All-Mainer team. UMaine-Farmington, the University of New England, St. Joseph's and Husson have enjoyed winning seasons with mostly Maine players. When Bates or Bowdoin get players, it is usually by recommendation, or the contact is initiated by the player. Murphy was contacted five years ago by a player from Arlington, Mass., named Olivia Zurek. Murphy went to watch her play and liked what he saw. Zurek became Bates' all-time leading rebounder and its No. 2 scorer. She graduated last year as an All-American. Pemper has heard from coaches at Division II schools who recruit a player but then don't have a spot for her. Stonehill College contacted Pemper about such a player, Jill Anelauskas. She is one of the Polar Bears' best scorers this year, as a freshman. BEYOND SCHOLARSHIPS Anelauskas, from Medfield, Mass., said when high school players "start the whole college process, every girl has this dream of playing for UConn or Tennessee and being the star." Then comes reality. Division I might not be a possibility, and Division II might not be a good fit. "You look at things like academics and your life in general," Anelauskas said. But it can take a while for players to look beyond getting a scholarship. "Since you're young, everything is built up about a scholarship," said USM senior Megan Myles. "Everyone wants to live the dream. But for me, it wasn't the dream I expected." Myles graduated from Edward Little High in Auburn and received a Division II scholarship to Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. She did not like her role on the team and came back to Maine, enrolling at USM. Myles has become one of the Huskies' top players and was named to the all-tournament team in last season's final four. USM's other top player, forward Ashley Marble of Topsfield, left the University of Maine and a volleyball scholarship, and joined Fifield's team. Pemper said one of her recruiting targets are "women who don't want a Division II scholarship and want to go Ivy (League). They have the grades for the Ivy, but maybe not the talent (for Division I)." When players realize they may not be good enough to play for a Division I Ivy League team, they might come calling to a Bowdoin or Bates. "August is a big month for me," Pemper said. "We try to evaluate and look at kids who might slip through the cracks." Others arrive unexpectedly. When Pouravelis graduated from McAuley High, she figured she would follow her sister's footsteps and enroll at Boston College, and not play sports. "But I realized I wasn't ready to let (basketball) go," Pouravelis said. "I had also applied at Bowdoin because it was a great school. It became the only option I had for playing basketball." Pouravelis has led Bowdoin in rebounding the past two seasons and is the two-time NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year. CROWDED REGION Pouravelis helped Bowdoin to a 26-3 season last year. Bates finished 25-3, and USM went 31-3. Take away their games against each other, and their combined record was 76-3. But there is a problem with three top programs so close together. In the money-making Division I NCAA tournament, teams are sent across the country according to their seeding. But Division III does not do that. Even though Bates and USM were ranked among the top four teams in the country, they were placed in the same region. And, worse for Bates, the Bobcats were the top seed in the region but could not be a host because their gymnasium is too small. USM was named the host and the Huskies beat Bates, 67-64. The NCAA did move Bowdoin out of the region, but placed the Polar Bears in a regional at the top-ranked University of Scranton (Pa.). Scranton eliminated Bowdoin in the regional final. This year, both USM and Bowdoin are 3-0. Bates, which graduated three starters, has two of its best players on the bench injured, including Coffin with a sore back. The Bobcats are 1-2, with both losses coming to nationally ranked teams, first to Brandeis, and then a 66-48 loss at USM last Tuesday. Bowdoin plays at USM this Tuesday, at 5:30 p.m. Bowdoin will play a key NESCAC game on Jan. 13 at Bates, when the Bobcats hope to be at full strength. As for the NCAA tournament, these teams could be meeting each other again. The best team from the greater Gorham-Lewiston-Brunswick area could end up being the best team in the country. Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:
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