Bates 71, Wellesley 55
at Lewiston, Maine

DEEP BENCH LEADS BATES WOMEN'S HOOPS
PAST WELLESLEY, 71-55

LEWISTON, Maine — The Bates College women's basketball team used superior depth today to defeat visiting Wellesley College, 71-55, in Alumni Gym. The Bobcat bench outscored Wellesley's by a 32-7 margin.

Bates (7-2) jumped out to a 23-13 lead over the first 12 minutes of the game after Wellesley took an early 12-9 lead. The Blue rallied with a 17-6 run of their own to establish a brief 30-29 advantage before Bates rookie guard Heather Taylor (Nobleboro, Maine) hit a bucket with 12 seconds left in the first to give the Bobcats a slim 31-30 halftime margin.

Bates never trailed again, scoring the first four points of the second before Wellesley (4-4) again got to within one at 35-34 on a hoop by junior Kelly Grover (Westbrook, Maine) with 17:19 left. The Bobcats answered with a 13-4 run over the next 3:30, reclaiming a 10-point lead on a 3-pointer by junior Julia Price (Mansfield, Mass.). Wellesley's Christine Carbonello (Londonderry, N.H.) answered with a trifecta of her own, but the Blue would not get closer than seven the rest of the way as the Bobcats cruised to the 16-point victory.

Bates used a balanced attack, getting 11 points each from juniors Carla Flaherty (Gorham, Maine) and Lisa Golobski (Methuen, Mass.) and 10 from rookie Olivia Zurek (Arlington, Mass.). Classmate Katie King (Turner, Maine) had a team-high nine rebounds. Bates shot 51.7 percent from the floor, including 59.3 percent in the second half, while holding the visitors to just 28.6 percent shooting for the game.

Wellesley was paced by Grover, who scored a game-high 19 points, and Carbonello, who had 13. Senior Jane Gooding (Loudonville, Ohio) had a game-high 12 rebounds, leading the Blue to a 45-38 advantage on the boards, including 25-12 on the offensive glass.

Box score available