BRUNSWICK – Leah Rubega showed her faith in Alex Kaubris by giving her the ball with the game on the line.

Even after Kaubris’ 18-foot attempt to win went long, Rubega embraced her teammate and made it clear she had no regrets.

“I just told her that I wouldn’t have it any other way. No one else belongs shooting that last shot,” Rubega said.

Alexis Bates gathered in Kaubris’ shot with two seconds left and Muhlenberg (Pa.) College hung on for a 58-57 victory Saturday night in the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament

Not only did Muhlenberg earn its first trip ever to the Sweet 16, it handed Bowdoin its first loss ever in 32 NCAA and New England Small College Athletic Conference tournament games at Morrell Gymnasium.

“We understood that they have never lost a game in the NCAA tournament here, but we’ve had a team that’s made history all year,” Muhlenberg coach Ron Rohn said. “In our league, we did a lot of things that were historic, and we went into tonight with the idea that we just want to win a game that would be historic.”

Controversy nearly denied Muhlenberg (26-3) the history it coveted. Bowdoin (24-5) was given one last chance to win after officials incorrectly gave the Polar Bears the ball on what was ruled a shot clock violation with 13.2 seconds remaining.

Alexandra Chili’s off-balance shot for the Mules appeared to hit the side of the rim and caromed out to teammate Kelly McKeon. The shot clock was not reset, however, and the buzzer sounded. After a brief conference, the three officials ruled it did not draw iron and awarded Bowdoin the ball.

“In order for the ball to come back on the same side it was shot at, we thought it would have hit iron,” Muhlenberg senior Lauren Boyle said.

“The thing that sold me on it was the way our kids reacted to go get the ball,” Rohn said. “But we have the chance after that play to make a play and stop them.”

Bowdoin took a time out and set up a play for Rubega inside. Muhlenberg surrounded the junior forward under the basket before she spotted Kaubris wide open along the baseline.

“Katie (Bergeron) had an awesome high-low pass. I just happened to see Alexa out there and I just have the confidence in her that she was the one to take the last shot,” Rubega said.

“The shots just didn’t fall, and I thought also that we were hurt by the boards,” Bowdoin coach Adrienne Shibles said. “We were outrebounded (42-36), and at crucial times.”

Bowdoin shot 32 percent for the game, 29 percent in the second half. Jill Henrikson led the Bears with 16 points, but on 3-for-10 shooting. Rubega added 10 points and 12 rebounds, Caitlin Hynes 10 points and nine boards. Kaubris, the former Dirigo star, ended her college career with six points.

Boyle paced Muhlenbeg with 16 points, while Shelia Cook and McKeon added 12 apiece.

Shooting wasn’t an immediate issue for the Polar Bears. They threatened to seize double-digit leads a couple of times in the first half. Henrikson completed and three-point play and Kaubris drilled a 3 to give them their largest lead at 24-16. After the Mules trimmed the deficit back to five, Kaubris sank another trey on a broken play to make it 28-20 with 6:10 remaining.

Bowdoin didn’t hit another field goal the rest of the half. A McKeon layup and a trey from Kaitlyn O’Malley triggered a 13-2 Muhlenberg run to close the half. Free throws by McKeon and Alexis Bates in the final minute sent the Mules into the locker room with a 33-30 advantage.

Bowdoin continued to miss the mark to start the second half, failing on its first five shots while Muhlenberg inflated its lead to eight on a three-point play by McKeon that also sent Kaubris to the bench with her third foul.

Leah Rubega finally broke the ice for the Polar Bears with 2:32 into the half on a jumper from the top of the key. Bowdoin briefly sliced the margin to two on a Henrikson 3-pointer before Alexandra Chili answered with one of her own 27 seconds later.

“We just kept reiterating that they had to keep shooting with confidence and they were eventually going to fall,” Shibles said.

Bowdoin starters began falling before its shots did again. NESCAC all-conference guard Maria Noucas tweaked a chronic hamstring injury and had to sit out much of the second half.

Muhlenberg, meanwhile, opened the biggest lead of the game when Cook scored to make it 56-46 with 6:44 remaining. Cook added another hoop to maintain the 10-point bulge with 5:21 left. The Mules did not score again.

Henrikson kicked off Bowdoin’s comeback attempt with a 3-pointer. Rubega then put back a Henrikson miss to make it 58-53 with 4:30 left. The Polar Bears missed four chances to make it a one-possession game before Bergeron made to free throws to pull them within one with 43.7 seconds to go.