BRUNSWICK — A young Bowdoin College team put together its best first half of the season Wednesday night to run away with a 65-44 win against the University of Southern Maine in a nonleague Division III women’s basketball game at Morrell Gymnasium.

The Polar Bears put together runs of 13-4 and 8-2 less than 10 minutes into the game to open a 30-14 lead. They led by as many as 26 points in the second half.

“Our point guard, Marle Curle, did a really good job of controlling the tempo, pushing the ball, driving the ball, but it was a balanced offensive effort,” Bowdoin Coach Adrienne Shibles said.

“We were relentless and made some good adjustments.”

During that first half, Bowdoin connected on 64.5 percent of its shots (18 of 28), sinking six consecutive shots during one two-minute stretch.

“The great thing about our team is we do have some depth and we do have a lot of weapons,” said Shibles, a former Mt. View High player who is in her seventh season as the Bowdoin coach.

Sara Binkhorst, a senior guard from West Hartford, Connecticut, scored a game-high 19 points for the Polar Bears.

Shannon Brady, a sophomore forward from Scituate, Massachusetts, followed with 16 points. Carle, who is from Plattsburgh, New York, added 15 points.

Megan Pelletier, a junior forward who played at Messalonskee High in Oakland, led the Huskies with 16 points. Rebecca Knight, a senior forward from Alfred who played at McAuley High in Portland, followed with 10 points.

Gary Fifield, in his 26th season as the USM coach, was unhappy with the performance of his team.

“The outcome doesn’t bother me,” he said. “It was our lack of defensive intensity early in the game. We weren’t able to take what we talk about in practice and in the locker room on to the floor.”

The Huskies managed to sink only 10 of 28 shots during the first half, which ended with the Polar Bears holding a 43-23 lead.

“When things weren’t going well (my players) played scared,” Fifield said. “They were afraid to make a mistake.”

Often the Huskies, who were outscored by a 32-18 margin from inside the paint, had to settle for long shots from the perimeter as the 30-second shooting clock wound down.

“I’d like to think it was our defense,” Shibles said. “We really talked about pressure and denying the (entry passes) in their offense.”

USM (3-3) did put together a 9-0 run after Bowdoin moved into a 57-31 lead less than nine minutes into the second half, but couldn’t sustain the momentum.

“We’re inexperienced. We’re young,” Fifield said. “We’ve got to learn some things from this and see if we have the ability to bounce back.”

Shibles seemed impressed with the progress her squad is making.

“We really only have four players returning with serious experience,” she said. “We’re mostly a freshman, sophomore-laden team, so there have been some growing pains early on, but I’m super impressed with how we’re progressing and how we’re improving each game.”

The Polar Bears are 5-2.