It’s March and that means only one thing around the Gorham campus: playoffs.
Once again the USM women’s basketball team is well on its way to continuing its eight-year streak of appearing in the NCAA women’s tournament.
Since 1986, Gary Fifield had his ladies in the Big Dance every year with the exception of 1994 when Western Connecticut was the lone representative of the Little East Conference.
This year’s squad is poised and focused on returning to the tournament where they were upset by the Emmanuel College Lady Saints last year at the Hill Gymnasium.
Currently, the Huskies are ranked No. 14 nationally in the D3Hoops.com Top 25 and possibly will be the only representation the Little East will have in the tournament that starts this week. The Huskies swept their Little East arch rival Eastern Connecticut University Warriors before they lost in the semi-final game of the Little East tournament to Plymouth State on Friday night paving the way for the Huskies to receive an automatic bid.
The women hoopsters aren’t the only team in town with aspirations of dancing. The women’s hockey team hosted their second-ever home playoff game at the Costello Ice Arena Saturday night with their male counterparts, opening the playoff season on the road.
The USM men and women of the ice are vying for the title of champions in the ECAC Div. III-East hockey playoff tournament. The women are led by junior goaltender Karen Jamnik, who has eight shutouts this season, and league Player of the Year Holly Manning. The men are led by the strong offense of Chad Lauze and Franco Narcisi, who lead the team in scoring.
One thing that makes this season special for the women’s hockey team is that they are making their third straight trip to the playoffs in only their fifth season of varsity competition.