By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

GORHAM – As it turned out, the NCAA Division III Sweet 16 game between the University of Southern Maine and Bates College was a best-of-three series.

They just played ’em all in the same night.

Run out of its own arena after leading by 19 points early in the second half, USM somehow willed overtime Friday night, then made two huge shots and an enormous steal in the final two minutes to dismiss Bates, 67-64, in a fabulous women’s basketball game at Warren Hill Gymnasium.

It wasn’t over until Bates freshman Sarah Barton unleashed a 3-pointer that appeared dead-on but brushed harmlessly off the front of the rim at the horn.

Megan Myles of Auburn scored six of her 23 points in overtime for USM before fouling out. Donna Cowing delivered a crucial layup late in OT. Later, when Katie Frost swatted a potential game-tying hoop by Betsy Hochadel, Cowing dove for the loose ball and alertly called time out while in midair with eight seconds left.

“Coach (Gary Fifield) had just said in the huddle we had two time outs left,” said Cowing. “I thought that would be a good time to use it.”

Trish Sylvain, who hit the tying free throws in regulation, drained another with 6.1 seconds to go in OT. Hochadel snagged the rebound when Sylvain missed the second, and Barton’s bomb from the top of the circle nearly added another chapter to this classic.

USM (29-2) will host Springfield College at 7 p.m. tonight for a trip to next weekend’s Final Four in Norfolk, Va. The Huskies seek their third berth in the national semifinals in eight years.

Cowing added 16 points and four steals, while Ashley Marble amassed 13 points and 17 rebounds for Southern Maine.

Olivia Zurek racked up 16 points and 16 rebounds in her final game for Bates, which was ranked in the top five nationally throughout the second half of the season and finished 25-3. Barton added 13 points and Meg Coffin 11.

Coffin fouled out before the end of regulation, and Zurek picked up her fifth in OT. Before that, they collaborated to help turn a clinker into one for the ages.

“The Sweet 16 was new to our kids, and we were very, very tentative at the start. I thought we played great to get back in it,” said Bates coach Jim Murphy. “Of course, I would rather have been the ones up 15 at the half.”

Instead, it was USM who led 36-21 and pushed it to 43-24 before the fireworks started, electrifying the bipartisan, standing-room-only crowd of 2,000.

Bates rallied from a 19-point deficit with 16:10 remaining in regulation with a breathtaking 32-8 run. Two Meg Coffin buckets, sandwiched around an Olivia Zurek steal, gave the Bobcats an improbable 55-50 lead with 1:45 left.

Suddenly it was the Huskies, comprised exclusively of underclassmen, who seemed shaky.

“We looked like we were trying too hard to protect a lead,” Fifield said. “We started walking it up the court and trying to run everything out of (half-court) sets.”

But USM scored the final five points of regulation, beginning with Frost’s 3-pointer. Frost then stole the ball with 31 seconds to go and gave the Huskies a chance to tie.

Marble missed two free throws, but freshman Sylvain smothered the rebound and drew a foul on her way up. She swished a pair with 17 seconds on the clock.

“I knew I just had to get the ball,” Sylvain said.

Having found its footing once again, USM never trailed in overtime. Myles knocked down an immense 3-pointer as the shot clock dwindled down with 1:56 to go in OT, handing the Huskies a 64-60 advantage.

Frost found Cowing for a backdoor lay-up and a 66-61 cushion.

Myles fouled out with 44 seconds left in OT, but the Bobcats only capitalized with the first of two free throws. They missed five from the stripe in the extra session.

Bates’ defense didn’t answer the first-half bell. Among the many oversights were letting Myles squirm free for three startlingly open 3-pointers and leaving the back door ajar for Cowing, Sylvain and Marble.

Marble missed only once in the first half.

“To play great defense, you need to communicate,” said Murphy. “I don’t know if we weren’t talking or were just too excited.”

As for rebounds, well, when you sputter to 6-for-28 from the floor, you’d better deliver a dozen second chances underneath the window. Bates chalked up four.

Nineteen times before the half, Southern Maine snagged the defensive board. Marble, Myles, Frost and Shannon Kynoch fed the Bobcats a buffet of one-and-done.

And it was tough to run when the Huskies wouldn’t miss. With Myles and Marble pushing USM to a toasty 13-for-23 pace, the Huskies’ hungry five typically were backpedaling into their own defensive comfort zone before Bates could impose its preferred 40-minutes-of-fury tempo.

“It’s tough for the seniors (Zurek, Hochadel, Heather Taylor and Elizabeth Blakeley), and it’s tough for me. The finality sets in for them that you’re never gonna wear the Bates uniform again,” Murphy said. “But they’ll come back for their reunions and talk about the 2004-05 season being the best in school history.”