BRUNSWICK —  Up next for the upstart Bowdoin College women’s basketball squad is George Fox University, out of Newberg, Ore.

The two schools are scheduled to meet Friday in a four-team NCAA Division III Sectional at the University of Mary Washington, with a Final Four appearance the grand prize.

However, the Polar Bears have drawn a tough Sectional as George Fox (29-0) is ranked fourth in the country, Mary Washington (29-0) seventh and Lebanon Valley (26-3) No. 17.

On Monday, the NCAA set game times, ticket information and live coverage for this weekend action in Fredericksburg, Va.

Bowdoin will face George Fox at 5 p.m. on Friday followed by Mary Washington and Lebanon Valley at 7 p.m. Friday’s winners will play Saturday at 7 p.m.

Tickets cost $7 for adults and $4 for students, children and seniors. One hundred tickets will be held for Bowdoin fans who are able to make the trip and will be available at the door at the William M. Anderson Center.

The Polar Bears (21-7) advanced to the ‘Sweet Sixteen’ for the third consecutive year, and 10th in the last 12 seasons, with a 55-51 win over Ithaca in the Second Round of the tournament on Saturday. Bowdoin also beat Southern Maine 75-68 the night before.

Fans unable to get to the games this weekend can follow all of the action via Live Statistics (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/19201163/ wbkb/ xlive. htm) and Live Video Webcast (http://www.ustream.tv/ channel/umw-athletics).

The George Fox Bruins, with an enrollment of 3,429, play out of the Northwest Conference. George Fox is one of three unbeaten teams remaining in Division III.

They are a gaudy 29-0 after dispatching Lewis and Clark, 52- 50, when a banked-in 3-pointer by Lewis & Clark’s Katie Anderson as time expired was ruled too late giving the Bruins the West Regional title at the Wheeler Sports Center’s Miller Gym.

Lewis & Clark, ranked ninth in the WBCA poll and seventh by D3hoops.com, saw its season end at 25-4, with all four of their losses to the Bruins.

In the title game, the Bruins finished with a .359 shooting percentage (14 of 39) after making half their shots (nine of 18) in the second half. The Pios struggled all game long for any consistency and wound up at .286 (16 of 56) from the field. Lewis & Clark held a 41-37 edge on the glass.

Keisha Gordon led all scorers with 18 points, her 12-for-12 game from the line one short of the Bruins’ single game record of 13-for-13 by Elise Kuenzi against Whitman College during the 2008-09 national championship season. Megan Arnoldy and Hannah Munger added 10 points apiece, and Gordon and Munger made it a double-double night with 12 points and 11 rebounds, respectively. Gordon also had five steals and Munger blocked five shots.

Beavers can score

On the season the Bruins are averaging 71 points per game, while allowing 49.8 and hit on 714 of 1,616 field-goal attempts (.442). They also outrebounded opponents 41-33 and are plus-4.3 in the turnover department.

Gordon leads with 14.2 ppg, followed by Munger (13.5) and Jami Roos ( 10.5), while the 6- foot- 5 Munger leads in rebounding (8.9), followed by Gordon ( 6.5) and Arnoldy (4.6).

And the Polar Bears, under head coach Adrienne Shibles?

Bowdoin averages 65.4 points and allowed 55.2 and holds a slim 38.1- 35.7 rebounding edge. Bowdoin also averages about 15 turnovers and shoots near 39 percent from the floor.

Bowdoin is 13-1 at home, 6-5 on the road and 2-1 on a neutral court and has won five of its last six games.

Leading scorers include Bath’s Jill Henrikson (471 points, 16.8 ppg), Kaitlin Donahoe ( 244, 9.8), Amy Hackett (228, 8.1), Ellery Gould (198, 7.1), Alexa Barry (19, 6.9) and Sara Binkhorst (118, 4.4).

Rebounding leaders include Henrikson (189), Barry (155), Gould (137) and Hackett (100), while Donahoe has a team-leading 85 assists and Henrikson 68. Henrikson also leads in steals with 76 and Gould has 50.

This group had to overcome injuries to post players Nicole Coombes ( ACL) and Anna Prohl (wrist).

But, head coach Adrienne Shibles really liked this team and the senior group of Hackett, Henrikson, Coombes, Gould and Barry. She had faith, despite a 3-2 start, which saw losses to in-state rivals Southern Maine (63-49) and Colby (56-41).

“I think this senior class is amazing and going into the season I knew we had some underclassmen who were going to come along. So I really thought we could go this far. When Nicole tore her ACL that was a huge loss for us.

“The fact that this team has gone this far without Nicole on the floor and without Anna … the key reserves speak to their tenacity. When Anna broke her wrist I said ‘I know someone else is going to step up.’”

Playing in the NESCAC has steeled the Polar Bears to the postseason. Among the last 16 remaining teams, Amherst, Bowdoin and Tufts are still alive.

“Absolutely, the parity in this league is incredible … there are no easy wins in the NESCAC,” offered Shibles. “We had to work so hard for a win at Middlebury (68-58) and I don’t think they had a win in the league ( 0- 10, 7- 17 overall). But, they’re a great team. I think this speaks to the strengths of our league and I think league play prepares us for the tournament.”

Going into last weekend’s regional, Shibles was wary. “USM’s got a great team and I knew we had our work cut out,” said the coach. “You know it’s going to be a battle. It was such a great game with so many lead changes.

“And Ithaca was incredibly balanced and strong off the boards. When we watched video we knew their biggest strength was the balance.”

This weekend also presents major challenges.

“It’s a tough bracket. But, all of the opponents are tough at this point. George Fox is undefeated and has a great tradition. A very strong, deep team.

“ I think the number- one thing we’ll have to do is keep them off the boards. We didn’t do a great job in the first half against Ithaca. We have to be more physical with them … and shore up the paint, they have a 6-5 girl and our starting center is Alexa Barry at 5-9!”

“But, it’s very exciting, all five of the seniors are super excited and they don’t want their careers to end.”

sports@timesrecord.com