By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – No surprise to hear a Bates College athlete recognize that there’s a world outside the gymnasium. It’s understood here that you’re an anthropology, philosophy or perhaps religion major first. Basketball? A distant second.

Don’t be surprised if Sarah Barton shuffles her favorite sport to seventh or eighth in the deck. Oh, she loves the game, proudly proclaiming that she’s played it “forever.”

Barton won’t overstate the importance of Friday night’s Sweet 16 collision with Southern Maine in the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament, though. Not when she thinks about the high school playoff game she missed three years ago, on a night she could have died.

“You don’t worry about little things,” Barton said, “when one day you can be fine and the next day you can be in a hospital not knowing what’s going on.”

On the first Tuesday in March 2002, Barton muddled through an ordinary day at Portsmouth (N.H.) High School. That night’s home playoff game against Central High should have been on her mind, too.

But Barton started running a fever that afternoon. She was achy and extremely tired. Thinking that she’d sleep off the symptoms and find a way to play, Barton headed home for a quick nap.

By the time she noticed it was after 7 p.m., tip-off time, Barton couldn’t summon the energy to sit up in bed, let alone fuss about missing Portsmouth’s big night. Early the next morning, when Sarah discovered a small rash, Anne Barton called the family doctor and rushed her daughter to Portsmouth Regional Hospital.

Deadly diagnosis

That rapid response probably saved the girl’s life.

Barton was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis, an infection of the lining that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. It’s rare. About 15 cases are diagnosed in New Hampshire every year, most during winter. Without quick, aggressive antibiotic treatment, it can be fatal.

In 2001, another Portsmouth athlete, senior swimmer Chris Girardin, died after he contracted the illness.

“So it definitely hit home for everyone in the community,” said Barton. “They knew it was life-threatening. They knew what a big deal it was.”

After doctors diagnosed Barton’s condition, she was transferred to Maine Medical Center in Portland, where she spent 12 days.

Barton doesn’t remember anything about the first 36 hours in intensive care.

“I don’t remember anyone actually telling me I had meningitis or what was going on. I just remember waking up,” Barton said. “I knew I went to the doctor on a Wednesday morning, and I don’t remember anything else until I woke up Thursday afternoon. Somehow I knew I was at Maine Med, but I didn’t know why or what was going on.”

She lost 20 pounds and a chance to play for a sectional championship. Barton got well enough to attend the team’s title game. Today, her voice still quivers slightly when she remembers the standing ovation she received from Portsmouth fans that night.

Three weeks after the initial diagnosis, Barton returned to school. A week after that, she played pick-up basketball.

“Considering the severity of the illness, it was an amazingly quick recovery,” Barton said. “It could have been a lot worse.”

Rated rookie

Barton speaks freely about the ordeal when she’s asked, but it’s probably not public knowledge on her new team, either. Bates coach Jim Murphy only recently heard about Barton’s illness from his sports information director.

“I didn’t know that when I recruited her, not that it would have made a difference. She’s a terrific young woman,” said Murphy. “You want players who are physically and mentally tough, and anyone who has gone through that has to have both qualities.”

The lone freshman starter in a Bates lineup that features seniors Olivia Zurek, Betsy Hochadel and Heather Taylor and sophomore Meg Coffin, Barton quietly earned New England Small College Athletic Conference Co-Rookie of the Year honors.

She’s averaging eight points and five rebounds per game while leading the team in 3-pointers and assists.

“Sarah is an exceptional passer. She played a terrific game defensively the first time we played Southern Maine,” Murphy said. “She was as good as anybody on the floor that night. And her decision-making has gotten even better.”

Bates was ranked No. 1 in the nation for the first time ever in February.

One 5-foot-8, first-year guard enjoyed the experience as much as anyone. She simply saw it through different eyes.

“You don’t know how important things are until you’re faced with death,” Barton said. “I can say it’s true, because it happened to me. It makes you appreciate everything.”