BRUNSWICK — Of course the University of Southern Maine women’s basketball team was nervous ahead of its NCAA Division III tournament game Friday.

Jaycie Christopher and Dakota Shipley had three pregame discussions to convince themselves otherwise, but the jitters still made an appearance at the start of a first-round matchup against Johnson & Wales.

Any lingering nerves were gone after the first quarter. The Huskies used a 17-4 run to take the lead and went on to a 62-46 win at Bowdoin College’s Morrell Gymnasium.

USM (26-2) will play Bowdoin (25-2) in the second round at 7:45 p.m. Saturday. The Polar Bears advanced with a 51-42 victory over Emmanuel in the later game.

“A lot of times, we rely on our defense to give us some energy, and so today, we weren’t making shots for big stretches of the game, but we could rely on our defense and our rebounding to keep us in it,” Christopher said. “(We were) just trusting that, and trusting that shots are going to fall eventually.” 

Christopher led the balanced USM scoring attack with 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Lucy Wiles (three steals) and Avah Ingalls (four assists) each contributed 11 points, while Izzy Morelli came off the bench and dropped in 10.

Tahlia Pena (14 points off the bench), Brianne Foley (13 points, five steals), Mikayla Caruso (12 points, 10 rebounds) paced Johnson & Wales (23-5). 

Johnson & Wales sophomore forward Grace Jaffray, a former Ellsworth High School standout and the nation’s second leading scorer entering the game (23.7 ppg), was held scoreless. Christopher, the Little East Conference Player of the Year, was her primary defender. 

“The biggest thing for me is I trust my teammates,” Christopher said. “I know that I can apply pressure and really extend out, and I know that if she gets by, they have my back.”

USM led 34-18 at halftime and 45-37 entering the fourth quarter. JWU used a 13-0 run in the third to cut its deficit to 40-35, but the Wildcats could not get any closer. 

Shipley (eight points, 15 rebounds, three blocks) and Ingalls both sat for stretches in foul trouble, which gave Morelli a chance to contribute.

“She gave us a huge boost in the first half and in the second half,” USM coach David Chadbourne said. “And she’s just a freshman. She’s got a bright future ahead, but she was key for us.”

Bowdoin wins defensive battle

In Friday’s second game, Bowdoin senior point guard Carly Davey took only three shots, but she made all three, including a 3-pointer from the right wing with 2:35 to go to help the Polar Bears hold off Emmanuel (22-7).

“I love a fourth quarter, I love the tournament, I love the moment,” Davey said. “(I’ve) put a lot of time and energy into basketball in the last four years, last eight years, so trusting the work that I’ve put in, just let it fly, good to see it go through.”

Emmanuel cut its deficit to 42-38 with 5:16 remaining. Then neither team scored until Davey’s 3-pointer five possessions later. It was the first 3-pointer of the second half for Bowdoin, and just its second basket of the fourth quarter.

The regional hosts tied their season low in scoring due to the Saints’ length and variety of defenses, including man, zone, full-court press and half-court traps. Emmanuel frequently intercepted passes (19 forced turnovers) or forced Bowdoin to use the entire shot clock, which often resulted in a miss and a rebound for the visitors (Emmanuel outrebounded Bowdoin 44-33 in total and 15-7 on the offensive glass.)

But Bowdoin’s defense was just as stingy and just as intense. The Polar Bears caused 23 turnovers and held Emmanuel to 26% shooting. Five players had at least two steals. Abbie Quinn (10 points, six rebounds) led with four. Maria Belardi (10 points) had three.

Davey and sophomore guard Grace Kinum (12 points, nine rebounds) agreed that the team has developed a “next-play mentality” during practices, which is helpful when having an inconsistent shooting performance like Friday.

“We can’t always control when the ball goes in, but we know that we can control stops,” Kinum said. “And it’s easy when you have people like Jamie Yue getting the ball somehow. We really celebrate those stops. I think that helps us keep that energy up.”

Lia Krumian led Emmanuel with 11 points. Kaitlyn Bartash added eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

“Bowdoin will not forget who they played today and our style,” Emmanuel coach Andy Yosinoff said. “I’ve never changed my style. We go at people. I’m a little crazy, as we all know, but it’s when they buy in and they play our style, we’re in the game with anybody.”