By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

Bates College slammed the University of Southern Maine women’s basketball team by 24 points the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

How much that result matters today, 6 feet of snow and one presidential inauguration later, depends largely upon whom you ask and how forthright he or she is.

To Jim Murphy, who’s either being brutally honest or typically humble, that 61-37 rout happened half a lifetime ago. Bates’ coach says it has no bearing whatsoever on tonight’s Sweet 16 game in the NCAA Division III tournament at Hill Gymnasium in Gorham.

“I think that game is irrelevant now,” he said.

True, the conditions were completely different than the ones surrounding today’s 8 p.m. tip-off.

The Bobcats were the home team; a hungry, unranked afterthought to anyone outside NESCAC and their circle of in-state, non-conference foes. USM, ranked No. 2 nationally in one autumn poll, had a holiday break and maybe even its next game against fellow top-five foe Bowdoin on its mind.

“Bates played very well, and we didn’t play well at all. That’s pretty much the recipe for getting kicked around,” said USM coach Gary Fifield.

Southern Maine (28-2) lost to Bowdoin, too. Since then, the Huskies have hammered out 26 straight wins, returning to the top five and setting up what’s widely considered the de facto sectional final, one night early.

Wesleyan battles Springfield in a 6 p.m. semifinal. The Wesleyan-Springfield and Bates-USM winners meet at 7 p.m. Saturday for a berth in the Division III final four at Norfolk, Va.

Maine’s third Sweet 16 qualifier, Bowdoin, takes on William Smith tonight at a different regional bracket in Scranton, Pa. The Bates-USM survivor couldn’t face the Polar Bears until the national championship or consolation game.

“USM has a reputation of being one of the best programs,” said Bates senior Betsy Hochadel. “It’s good to play them early. It would give us a lot of confidence if we can beat them and move on.”

Murphy hasn’t changed his mantra from Bates’ initial confrontation with USM.

The Bobcats (25-2) rely on their athleticism and the mentality that all five players are good shooters, sound rebounders and defensive pests.

“Those are three things we always talk about in practice: defense, rebound and run. Those things all work together,” said Olivia Zurek, the NESCAC Player of the Year. In November, she scored 10 points and made six steals against the Huskies.

Bates is even more dangerous these days thanks to the emergence of Zurek’s frontcourt mate, sophomore Meg Coffin, who amassed 21 points and 18 rebounds in the Bobcats’ 83-64 second-round win Saturday over Emmanuel.

Hochadel is the most dangerous perimeter shooter among Bates’ starting five, while senior Heather Taylor and freshman Sarah Barton comprise a stellar backcourt.

In addition to playing on its home court, Southern Maine, despite having no seniors, owns every advantage in playoff experience and tradition. USM seeks its eighth trip to the Elite Eight in Fifield’s tenure, while Bates is chasing its first.

This is the Huskies’ 11th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. Bates hadn’t been here since 2000.

Meg Myles of Turner scored 25 points in Saturday’s 55-52 victory over Ithaca, tying Ashley Marble for the Huskies’ season-high.

Marble paces USM with 13.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Myles leads the Huskies with 61 steals. Katie Frost, Donna Cowing and Katie Sibley showcase equally well-rounded games.

Six different Huskies have knocked down at least 33 percent of their 3-point bids.

“What makes them so dangerous is that all of them hit 3s, yet they all can dribble penetrate,” said Murphy.

Bates limited the Huskies to 30 percent from the field and forced 26 turnovers in the regular-season meeting.

“I’m sure that is on people’s minds. They put a pretty good beating on us,” Fifield said. “It was a woeful night.”

The Bobcats recognize that the third game of a five-month season was like a breathtaking trick shot in the playground game of horse. It’ll mean zilch if they don’t back it up tonight.

“At the beginning of the season, a lot of people didn’t know who Bates College was,” Barton said. “To go out there and beat USM, especially on their floor, would be amazing. It would kind of send everyone a message.”