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Callie Godfrey hears it all over the place. In the hallways, at the dining hall and even off campus.

Wherever she goes, she finds someone wanting to talk to her about how the Bowdoin College women’s basketball team is doing this season.

“Today, I was applying for a job and the person lives in Topsham. They were like ‘Oh, we keep up with your basketball,'” said Godfrey, a senior forward. “Every time I go to the dining hall, sometimes the people behind there will be like ‘Congratulations on the win.’ It’s nice to have people who go out of their way to share nice words.”

There’s plenty to be excited about. Bowdoin (20-0) is ranked fourth in the country in NCAA Division III and looks the part of a national championship contender.

“Each game we walk on the court, I feel as though our whole team has the confidence where nobody is better than us,” Godfrey said. “I don’t think it’s a surprise when we win a game. I kind of think we walk on the court knowing we can.”

For one of the more consistently successful programs in the country, this is familiar territory. Bowdoin started 19-1 last season on its way to a 28-3 record and Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA tournament. The Polar Bears also won their first 19 games in the 2019-20 season.

Still, for the players and coaches, there’s been a special feel to this winter.

“It’s been such a fun season,” coach Megan Phelps said. “One of my favorite things about the group that I have this year is they’re not settled. They’re pretty hungry to improve. … We are preparing for something bigger, and trying to build off what we did last year.”

There’s a zero in the loss column for now. Given the tough competition that remains, however, the Polar Bears aren’t about to sweat if that changes.

“I don’t think we worry too much about messing it up,” Phelps said. “We really do try to create that mindset that failure is such an important part of growth.”

Motivation hasn’t been a problem. The Bowdoin players just think back to last year and the 52-47 loss to Smith College, when a potential dream season came to a halt two games shy of the national championship game.

“That game, I feel like for a while after and the week after, kind of haunted my dreams, just replaying things that could have gone differently,” Godfrey said. “It was bittersweet. It’s hard to look back and be like ‘We were in the Elite Eight’ and feel sad, but I feel like this year, it gives us a little bit of fire and fuel to get there again and go further.”

Senior guard Sydney Jones, the team’s leading scorer at 15.1 points per game, said the team knew it wanted more.

“We took some time to celebrate our achievement,” she said, “but coming into this year, we were really hell-bent on the fact we didn’t accomplish everything we wanted to.”

While NCAA tournament berths are nothing new for Bowdoin, last year was the first time there for this group of players — an experience that should help later as the team makes another attempt for the program’s first national title.

“In the moment (of the loss), it’s always devastation,” Phelps said. “But I did think we had great perspective on what an amazing season it was. We play in the toughest conference in the country, so to win the NESCAC is such an incredible achievement. … (We thought) about what were we going to look like this year, and how did we need to improve?”

Bowdoin’s mix has worked so far. The key has come defensively, as the Polar Bears rank 15th nationally at 49 points per game.

“I think our on-ball defense has been really good, not letting people get into our paint and getting out to shooters,” Jones said. “We’ve worked a lot on our transition defense, not letting them get easy buckets at the rim, and really making people hit hard shots.”

The Polar Bears have also received a boost from sophomore Abbie Quinn, a former Bangor standout who came off the bench last season but has found a home in the starting lineup, with averages of 11.7 points (second on the team) and 4.6 rebounds (third).

“Freshman year … you’re coming in as a sponge, you’re just supposed to be there to take in all the information you can, learn as much as you can. I think I was able to do that,” Quinn said. “I was able to build on it. That’s such a testament to the team and the culture that we have, and the leaders that we have to teach me.”

Phelps, like Quinn a former high school star in the post at Mt. Desert Island, said she’s been impressed by her second-year player.

“She plays with a maturity beyond her years,” she said. “(She’s) that great fundamental Maine post player. She’s got great feet, she’s got great hands. Just a great feel for the game.”