A day after a tough loss in the New England Small College Athletic Conference title game, the Bowdoin College women’s basketball team got some coveted news Monday.

The Polar Bears received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III tournament and learned they will host first- and second-round games in Brunswick.

Bowdoin (22-5) will play Salve Regina (25-3) at 7 p.m. Friday.

“We are very excited and the team is absolutely determined,” said Bowdoin Coach Adrienne Shibles. “We have high expectations and are looking forward to getting back on the court.”

Bowdoin will be joined in the tournament by NESCAC and in-state rival Colby College, which also earned an at-large bid, along with both the men’s and women’s teams at Husson University.

Colby (21-5) will travel to New Jersey to play Stevens Institute (21-6), coached by former Westbrook standout Bri Fecteau.

“I think the best thing about our team is that we have some depth,” said Colby Coach Christine Clancy. “We have a number of players who can step up on any given day. … We were a little surprised we’re going all the way to New Jersey, but we’re just happy to be back.”

Both programs at Husson earned bids to NCAA tournaments by winning their respective North Atlantic Conference championships.

The men beat Lyndon State 84-73 and the women defeated Castleton State 67-53.

“This is the fifth times both programs have advanced to the national tournament together, which is great for our student-athletes,” said men’s coach Warren Caruso. “There’s a bond there that’s unique and becomes more special when you both get to go.”

The Husson men (21-6) will play at Williams College (25-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Williamstown, Mass. The Husson women (16-11) will play at Amherst College (26-1) in Amherst, Mass.

Bowdoin, meanwhile, will be preparing to host a pod of four on campus, including Salve Regina, Emmanuel (21-7) and Mount St. Mary (25-2). The Polar Bears have made 10 consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament and expected their strength of schedule would get them an 11th straight bid.

But after losing the NESCAC championship to Amherst by the lopsided score of 72-37 on Sunday, it was a relief to see the pairings announced.

“We set the bar very high this year,” said Shibles. “We want to go further than last year. We feel like we have the talent and the cohesiveness with this team to go all the way if we’re playing the kind of basketball we can play. We just can’t have any lapses like we did on Sunday.”

The Polar Bears are led on the court by Katie Bergeron of Bradley, who scores 11.8 points a game.

Jill Henrickson of Bath is also a key cog with 11.5 points per game. Henrickson, however, suffered a concussion and missed Sunday’s NESCAC final.

Shibles is hopeful she may be able to return by the weekend.

“We’re very hopeful we’ll have Jill back this weekend. The trainer feels optimistic,” said Shibles. “But with head injuries you never know.”

Two teams often in the hunt did not earn bids this year: the University of Southern Maine women, who lost in the Little East semifinal last Friday, and the Saint Joseph’s men, who lost in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference final on Saturday.

Staff Writer Jenn Menendez can be contacted at 791-6426 or at: [email protected]