By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – In three months of beating the New England NCAA Division III women’s basketball community like a drum, the University of Southern Maine Huskies hadn’t satisfied a smattering of doomsayers who wanted to see how they would handle a close game.

So much for that speculation. After rallying to a 56-53 victory over Bowdoin College in the sectional final, USM doesn’t have to apologize to anyone at this weekend’s Final Four for its familiarity with garbage time.

“I think the only ones who have made an issue of the lopsided scores have been you (media) people,” said USM coach Gary Fifield. “These kids have been involved in close games all their lives. They all played for state championships in high school. They know how to react in a time-and-score situation.”

Southern Maine (31-1) appears in a national semifinal this afternoon for the second straight year and the fifth time in Fifield’s tenure. The Huskies face Hardin-Simmons University of Abilene, Texas, at 4 p.m.

Hope College of Holland, Mich., and the University of Scranton (Pa.) draw the second game of the doubleheader at Blake Arena on the Springfield College campus. The consolation game is set for 12:30 p.m. Saturday, with the national championship game at 3 p.m.

USM was national runner-up in 1998 and 2000. The Huskies finished third last season, falling 66-60 to Millikin in the semis before edging Scranton 55-53 in the consolation clash.

Returning its entire starting five from that run, Southern Maine lost at Salem State, 71-61, on Dec. 17. The Huskies won every other game by a double-digit margin until last Saturday, when they trailed Bowdoin with under two minutes remaining before a basket by Ashley Marble and a steal by Megan Myles saved the season.

“This year has been great since the first day of practice,” said Myles, a senior from Auburn. “But nothing would have been satisfying if we didn’t make it to the Final Four.”

Senior tri-captains Myles (12.8 points, 5.6 rebounds per game), Katie Frost and Donna Cowing are volatile from 3-point range. Together with junior point guard Katie Sibley, they provide the ideal complement for All-America finalist Ashley Marble (17.3 ppg, 9.5 rpg).

Hardin-Simmons (24-5) walked into the party through the back door. The Cowgirls won 19 of their first 21 games before dropping three out of four, including an 83-80 overtime verdict to East Texas Baptist in the first round of their conference tournament.

Given a reprieve in the form of an at-large NCAA bid, Hardin-Simmons won four games on the road, toppling higher-seeded McMurry and Pacific Lutheran in their home gyms.

“It’s been a long season for everyone,” said Hardin-Simmons coach Shanna Briggs. “We’re excited about making history to get to this point. We don’t get too nervous. We look at this (entire tournament run) as a second opportunity.”

Like USM last year, Hardin-Simmons reached this point without any seniors. What the Cowgirls do have is size. Lyssa Dennard, a 5-10 guard, leads the team with 12.3 points per game and usually draws the toughest defensive assignment.

Six-foot Melissa Henley (11.7 ppg) and 5-10 Sonya West (11.7 ppg, 9.7 rpg) will try to challenge Marble and Myles underneath the basket.

“They’ve played great competition,” Briggs said of USM. “Their record speaks for itself.”

Hardin-Simmons is the only team in the group with more than one loss.

Somebody’s 28-game winning streak will end in the second game when Hope (31-1) hooks up with Scranton (30-1).

Adelphia digital cable subscribers may watch Saturday’s title game on College Sports TV (Channel 175). Streaming audio webcasts of all games are available at www.d3hoops.com.