Bates 71, Amherst 58
at Lewiston, Maine

BATES WOMEN'S HOOPS DOWNS AMHERST, 71-58

LEWISTON, Maine — Four starters scored in double figures tonight as the Bates College women's basketball team won for the sixth time in its last seven games with a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) victory over the visiting Amherst College Lord Jeffs, 71-58.

Bates (11-3, 2-0 NESCAC) trailed by as many 10 points at 16-6 midway through the first half, but the Bobcats outscored Amherst (8-8, 0-3 NESCAC) 23-11 over the second 10 minutes of the game to take a 29-27 lead into the locker room. Bates was paced by 14 points from senior guard Kate Dockery (New York, N.Y.) in the first, while Amherst sophomore guard Shannon Russell (Shrewsbury, Mass.) had 16 to lead all scorers at the break. Neither team shot better than 30 percent from the floor in the first.

The Bobcats scored the first five points of the second half, taking a seven-point advantage at 34-27 on junior forward Carla Flaherty's (Gorham, Maine) free throw 1:39 in. The Lord Jeffs cut the lead back to three points, 38-35, on a Russell trifecta just over three minutes into the half, but Bates rattled off a 13-2 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes. A fast-break bucket by first-year guard Heather Taylor (Nobleboro, Maine) put the Bobcats up 53-37, a lead that would grow to as many as 20 never be less than 11 again.

Dockery led all Bobcats with 18 points on seven-of-12 shooting, while sophomore forward Lauren Dubois (Beverly, Mass.) had 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Junior Lisa Golobski (Methuen, Mass.) added 12 points and three assists, while Flaherty rounded out the double figure scorers with 11 points, including seven-of-eight from the line. Bates improved to 6-2 all-time against the Lord Jeffs, avenging the two losses they suffered last season.

Russell was the only Amherst player to reach double figures. Junior forward Sarah Walker (W. Hartford, Conn.) had nine rebounds, while classmate Hallison Putnam (Lexington, Ky.) had a game-high five assists.

Box score available