FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BATES HOOPSTERS REACH 1,000-POINT MILESTONES

LEWISTON, Maine - Whether the year 2000 or 2001 was the start of a new millennium, the Bates College basketball teams have kept the magical m-word on their minds all season long. Three Bobcat players have reached the 1,000-point plateau for their career already, and two more are within reach of joining them.

The first to reach the career milestone this season was senior Rommel Padonou of Libreville, Gabon. Padonou eclipsed the mark Dec. 6, 2000, as the Bobcats defeated in-state rival Bowdoin College, 73-64, on the Polar Bears' home turf. Padonou entered the game needing just one basket, which he got on the first possession of the contest, to become the 21st man in school history to score 1,000 points. The win was Bates' first over the Polar Bears since 1996, but Bowdoin will have a chance to avenge the loss in Alumni Gymnasium this Friday night at 7 p.m.

The next player to reach the 1,000-point mark — and the only woman added to the list this season — was senior Kate McLaughlin of Laconia, N.H. McLaughlin reached the mark at home against Bowdoin on Jan. 23, 2001, in a 68 50 loss. She is the 11th woman to reach the mark at Bates. Of those 11 women, five have scored their 1,000th point under current head coach Jim Murphy '69 Ñ Sarah Bonkovsky '97, Amy Taylor '99, Emily King '00, Jolene Thurston '00 and McLaughlin.

The most recent addition to the list is junior forward Alex Wilson of Duxbury, Mass. Wilson scored his 1,000th three nights after McLaughlin, hitting 13 points in the first half of a 91-81 loss to Amherst on Jan. 26. He was the 22nd man and just the fourth junior in Bates history to reach the mark. A pair of Wilson's classmates have a chance to join him on the elite list.

Forward Ed Walker of Roxbury, Mass., is the closest to making it this season. The Bobcats' leading scorer at 16.3 points per game this year, Walker is 54 points short of the mark with six games left on the regular season schedule. Walker has averaged 26.3 points per game in his last three games, a rate that could put him on the list during a Feb. 3 home game against in-state rival Colby.

If junior Billy Hart of Haverhill, Mass., reaches the mark it will give Bates just the second class in school history with three 1,000-point scorers and the first to accomplish the feat before their senior season. Hart has 923 points entering the weekend. Hart averages 14.0 points per game for his career and 13.1 for this season. Matching either rate over the last six games will put him over the top, especially if the Bobcats play at least one game in the inaugural New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) tournament. First-round games for that tournament will be played Feb. 21 at sites to be determined. With six games left on the schedule, the Bobcats' seed in that tournament is still up in the air.

For more information on Bates basketball, visit our home pages at http://www.bates.edu/sports/mhoops.html for the men and http://www.bates.edu/sports/whoops.html for the women.