GORHAM, Maine  - The nationally-ranked University of Southern Maine Huskies women's basketball team has earned one of 24 at-large bids to the 2008 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.  The field of 63 teams was announced late tonight (Sunday) by the NCAA.  The NCAA will announce first round games and host sites at approximately 9 a.m. on Monday morning. 

It is the Huskies' 14th straight trip to the NCAA tournament dating back to 1996 and 22nd bid to the NCAA tournament in the 23 years since they have moved to the NCAA from the NAIA in 1985.

Sixty-three teams receive bids to the tournament.  Thirty-nine teams received automatic - or Pool A - bids after capturing their qualifying conference championships.  Twenty-one runners-up from those conferences (Pool C) and three teams who are not in those 39 conferences (Pool B) make up the rest of the field. 

Southern Maine is one of 11 teams from the New England Region to earn a berth into the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.   The Huskies join Amherst College (Mass.), Becker College (Mass.), Brandeis University (Mass.), Bowdoin College (Mass.), Bridgewater State College (Mass.), Eastern Connecticut State University, Emmanuel College (Mass.), Salem State College (Mass.), Tufts University (Mass.) and Wheaton College (Mass.). 

Emmanuel won the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship, Bridgewater State captured the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championship, Amherst won the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championship, Wheaton earned the New England Women's and Men's Athletics Conference (NEWMAC) championship and Becker claimed the North Athletic Conference (NAC) title to earn Pool A bids.  Bowdoin (NESCAC), Brandeis (University Athletic Association), Salem State (MASCAC) and Tufts (NESCAC) each earned Pool C bids.

Southern Maine fell to Eastern Connecticut 65-60 in overtime in the Little East Conference tournament championship.  The Huskies, who won the LEC regular season title, stand at 25-3 overall and finished their conference schedule with a 13-1 record.  Eastern Connecticut received theconference's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament.