enlarge Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

“It feels great to be back in an area where people are passionate about basketball,” said Adrienne Shibles, Bowdoin’s new coach.

enlarge Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

Adrienne Shibles’ upbeat attitude as the new coach of the Bowdoin women’s basketball team already has made an impression on the players. “She has great perspective,” says senior Alexa Kaubris. “She helps us to understand it’s OK to have a little fun and loosen up.”

enlarge Gordon Chibroski/Staff Photographer

With Coach Adrienne Shibles, background, watching from the bench, Bowdoin’s Jill Henrikson draws attention from University of New England defenders in a game Nov. 25. The Polar Bears face a big test tonight, hosting USM.

7 – Bowdoin's NESCAC championships

9 – Times Bowdoin's made the NCAA Division III tournament

6 – Times Bowdoin has made the NCAA Elite Eight

19-9 – Bowdoin's record last season

TODAY'S GAME

WHO: Bowdoin (3-1) vs. Southern Maine (4-0)

WHEN: 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Morrell Gym, Brunswick

OF NOTE: Both teams have new coaches, Adrienne Shibles at Bowdoin, Mike McDevitt at USM

BIDDEFORD — Coming off a 27-point loss, they jumped out to a 12-0 lead while holding the University of New England to two shots – one blocked, one missed – in its first five possessions. Then their leading scorer crumpled in the lane, felled by a potentially season-ending knee injury. Shortly after that, the power went out, leading to a 16-minute delay.

So, yeah, there were a few ups and downs last week in the third game of the season for the Bowdoin College women's basketball team.

Not that you would have known it by watching Adrienne Shibles, the new head coach of the Polar Bears.

Shibles is neither stomper nor yeller nor frowner.

Instead, she exhorts. She encourages. She even laughs.

"She has great perspective," said Alexa Kaubris, a senior from Rumford who has yet to play this season because of a foot injury. "She helps us to understand it's OK to have a little fun and loosen up. When business needs to be done, she's serious. But she's also right in the forefront of having fun."

When Bowdoin hosts the University of Southern Maine at 7:30 tonight in Brunswick, it will mark the resumption of a rivalry involving not only two of the best collegiate programs in the state, but also two of the best NCAA Division III programs in the nation.

Both of them are in the midst of transition this season. Former assistant coach Mike McDevitt has taken over the USM reins held for 21 years by Gary Fifield, who retired from coaching in September but remains at Southern Maine as associate athletic director.

Shibles was hired in June following the departure of Stefanie Pemper to the U.S. Naval Academy. In 10 years at Bowdoin, Pemper produced an overall record of 235-48 that included nine NCAA tournament berths, six trips to the Elite Eight and one national championship appearance.

"Coming into the interview process I was obviously very aware of that whole question," Shibles said of the challenge inherent in following such formidable footsteps. "My biggest concern was, would they be able to accept a new coach and move on? And in the discussions I had with the players, I felt they were. They enjoyed their time with Coach Pemper but they were looking forward to a new chapter."

STRONG WORK ETHIC

Any introduction to Shibles, 39, must begin at the family dairy farm in Knox, where she and younger brother Barak learned responsibility and hard work. Among their chores were milking cows, cleaning the milk tank, shoveling manure and cutting and baling hay.

"The only way we were excused from summer chores was if we had summer basketball," Shibles said. "Thus, my love for the sport."

Shibles attended Mt. View High in Thorndike, where she played basketball for Allen Downer. Now retired, Downer remembers Shibles as a strong rebounder and defensive player who always gave full effort.

"She was a real smart player," Downer said. "She'd never get rattled."

After graduation in 1987, Shibles enrolled at Bates College, where she majored in history and American studies and, along with point guard Amy Schrag and fellow forward Julie Roche, helped turn a losing program into a winning one under Coach Marsha Graef, now an assistant athletic director at Bates.

"She was always energetic, always mentally ready to play and always inquisitive," Graef said. "What's the reason why we do this? What's the strategy? So I think it was kind of natural for her to fall right into basketball coaching. She loved it."

Shibles' final game at Bates was a victory against Bowdoin in which she scored her 1,000th career point. She currently stands 16th in school history with 1,005 points and fifth in rebounding with 771.

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

Five years later, after earning a master's degree and getting coaching experience in Massachusetts, Shibles was hired as head coach at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. She...