The 1987-88 University of Southern Maine women’s basketball team was the first-ever Little East Conference (LEC) program to advance to a Final Four of a NCAA Division III Championship, in the league’s second year of existence.
The Huskies posted an overall record of 27-3 under first-year head coach Gary Fifield, repeating as LEC regular season champion with a perfect 10-0 record in conference play before defeating Rhode Island College (69-62) and Eastern Connecticut State University (56-54) to repeat as LEC tournament champion. Diana Duff was voted the LEC Player of the Year, and was joined on the All-LEC team by Mary Harrigan and Lynn Littlefield.
Southern Maine’s season was far from over following the announcement of the conference awards. The Huskies won their opening round matchup of the NCAA tournament with a 68-61 decision over Emmanuel (Mass.) College before downing Salem State College 60-56 to claim the regional championship, and then cruised to a 73-52 triumph over Franklin & Marshall College in the Elite Eight.
USM would face St. John Fisher College in the national semifinals, falling to the Cardinals, 70-53. The Huskies were then edged by North Carolina-Greensboro in the third-place game, 68-66. At the time, the fourth-place finish at the DIII National Championship was the best in program history.
Duff, who was inducted into the LEC Hall of Fame in 2018, was named the 1988 NCAA Division III National Championship All-Tournament Team and garnered the first of her two All-American honors from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). She and Littlefield were both named First Team All-ECAC.