Bates 81, Amherst 54
at Amherst, Mass.

BATES WOMEN BLOW PAST AMHERST, 81-54
Bobcats force 37 Jeff turnovers, end six-game Amherst win streak

(Taken from an Amherst College press release)

AMHERST, Mass. -- The Bates College Bobcats knocked down 17 of their first 21 shots after halftime, blowing open what had been an 18-point lead at the break en route to an 81-54 win over host Amherst College in NESCAC conference action on Saturday.

The Jeffs stayed with the Bobcats, ranked second in New England in last week's WBCA poll, throughout much of the first half, led by senior Co-captain Naomi Sullivan (Hudson, Mass.), who had eight of her game-high 24 points in the first 8:47. But tied at 15, Bates went on a 23-5 run to close the half, led by junior forward Kate McLaughlin (Laconia, N.H.), who posted 12 of her team-best 19 points, and eight of her nine rebounds in the opening half.

Freshman Amherst point guard Sara Bozorg (Amherst, Mass.) knocked down a three-pointer at the 19:38 mark of the second half to close the Jeffs to within 17, before Bates went on a game-breaking 12-0 run, six of which came from senior co-captain Jolene Thurston (Post Mills, Vt.). The Jeffs would get no closer than 24 after the Bobcat run, as Bates turned a season-high 37 Amherst turnovers into 31 points. Senior Bates co-captain Emily King (Lebanon, N.H.) scored eight of her 11 points after halftime, and the Bobcats shot an incredible 20-30 from the field in the period, after a 14 for 38 (36.8 percent) performance in the opening half. For the game, the Bobcats recorded assists on 28 of their 34 field goals, including six each from Thurston and freshman Marcy Grossman (Eastsound, Wash.), while Amherst's turnover problems limited them to only 46 shots for the game, of which they converted 17.

After Sullivan's game-high 24 points, sophomore Hallison Putnam (Lexington, Ky.) contributed eight points and eight rebounds off the bench, while freshman Amherst forward Sarah Walker (West Hartford, Conn.) was held to seven points and eight rebounds by the swarming Bobcat defense.

The 81 points scored by Bates was the most allowed by Amherst all season, as the Jeffs saw their six-game winning streak snapped. The Bobcats (13-3, 2-1 NESCAC) return home to face Hamilton College next Friday, while the Jeffs (10-5, 2-1 NESCAC) head to New England College on Tuesday night for a non-conference battle.

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