BRUNSWICK – Broken hearts, at least in a basketball context, heal more quickly than threadbare foot tendons or torn knee ligaments.

So Bowdoin College will be fine, perhaps even better, for Tuesday night’s experience at Morrell Gymnasium. The new-look-by-necessity Polar Bears rallied from a 15-point, second-half deficit to take the lead from the University of Southern Maine three times in the final seven minutes.

Healthier and slightly more suntanned by the spotlight, however, the Huskies howled last and loudest. USM hit five of six free throws in the closing seconds to prevail, 75-72, in the annual showdown of nationally ranked women’s hoop programs.

“We need to play 40 minutes the way we played that second half,” said Bowdoin coach Adrienne Shibles. “There are some teary eyes right now, but I think we took away some confidence from this.”

Kristi Violette’s inside bucket with 43.8 seconds remaining put Southern Maine (5-0) ahead to stay at 70-68. Violette, a sophomore, missed the free throw that would have completed a three-point play, but junior Ruthie Briggs reeled in the offensive rebound.

USM worked the ball to Nicole Paradis, who played keepaway until she drew a foul and sank both halves of the double bonus to make it a two-possession game.

“She’s our leader, even though she’s not a senior,” Southern Maine coach Mike McDevitt said of Paradis. “Together with Stacey (Kent), she helped us pull this one out. A win? At Bowdoin? I’m ecstatic.”

Kent led the Huskies with 24 points, including two go-ahead buckets in the final 5:56. Paradis scored nine of her 14 in that stretch. Violette also finished with 14.

Bowdoin (3-2) battled back without the benefit of senior tri-captains Alexa Kaubris of Rumford, who has missed all five games due to chronic foot problems, and Jill Anelauskas, who is likely out for the season with a knee injury.

Maria Noucas reminded the Huskies and a crowd of over 600 that the Polar Bears still have one captain left. Noucas nailed five 3-pointers in the second half. She led Bowdoin with 18 points.

“She kind of lulled us to sleep in the first half,” McDevitt said of Noucas, who missed her first four tries from beyond the arc. “That’s senior leadership. She put that team on her shoulders and almost singlehandedly beat us.”

Beset by 15 turnovers, 15 fouls and 6-for-25 shooting, Bowdoin trailed 31-19 at halftime.

Fifteen was a key number in the second half, too. It’s where the deficit bottomed out when Kent canned a 3-pointer to make it 41-26 with 15:36 to play.

“They weren’t going to just fall back and let us roll up the score,” Kent said. “They did make a run, but I think we kept our composure pretty well.”

Bowdoin embarked on a 30-14 surge after Kent’s trey, taking the lead for the first time since it was 3-2 at 56-55 when Noucas knocked down her fifth bomb.

The Polar Bears’ lead grew to 62-59 on a traditional 3-point play by Katie Bergeron. Paradis answered with a drive and a 3-pointer from the right wing in a 52-second span.

“It was fun. The second half was especially fun,” said Shibles, who like McDevitt was coaching her first game in the in-state rivalry. “The nerves were gone and finally we could just play basketball. The team was wondering how we were going to perform against a great team like USM, and I think we showed in the second half we can compete with anyone.”

Kaylie DeMillo of Jay scored nine points for USM, including a free throw with 3.9 seconds remaining.

Sabrina Cote contributed 13 points for Bowdoin. Bergeron added 12.