Bates 56, Bowdoin 54
at Lewiston, Maine

BATES WOMEN STUN NO. 2 BOWDOIN, 56-54
Flaherty's 21 points, Dockery's FTs lead Bobcats

LEWISTON, Maine —Senior guard Kate Dockery (New York, N.Y.) hit two free throws with six-tenths of a second left on the clock tonight to give the host Bates College Bobcats a 56-54 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) victory over the visiting Bowdoin College Polar Bears. Bowdoin entered the game No. 2 in the nation in the latest D3hoops.com polls and was one of three undefeated teams in NCAA Division III women's basketball.

Bates (13-4, 3-1 NESCAC) led for the entire first half thanks to 11 points from junior forward Carla Flaherty (Gorham, Maine), who hit five-of-eight shots from the floor. The Bobcats led by as many as 10 points at 25-15 on Flaherty's three-point play with 3:12 on the clock, but Bowdoin (15-1, 4-1 NESCAC) scored the final five points of the stanza on a 3-pointer by senior Jessie Mayol (Westbrook, Maine) and a pair of free throws by junior forward Kristi Royer (Lewiston, Maine).

Flaherty hit a 3-pointer to open the second half to gave Bates a 28-20 lead. The Polar Bears answered with a 14-6 run over the next eight minutes, tying the game on a trifecta from sophomore Lora Trenkle (Surrey, Maine) with 12:12 on the clock and taking their first lead on the only hoop of the game from sophomore Courtney Trotta (Sharon, Mass.). An assist from Royer to Mayol gave the Polar Bears their biggest lead of the game at 40-36. The Bobcats scored the next six points to go up by two, 42-40, on a hoop by rookie Olivia Zurek (Arlington, mass.) that just beat the shot clock. Mayol was fouled taking a 3-pointer on Bowdoin's next possession, but missed the third free throw that would have given the Polar Bears the lead.

A Flaherty three-ball and a bucket from junior Lisa Golobski (Methuen, Mass.) put the Bobcats back up by five, but Bowdoin answered again on a hoop by Alison Smith (Stockon Springs, Maine) and three more free throws by Mayol. Zurek then scored five unanswered points, hitting a traditional three-point play with 3:57 on the clock to give Bates a 52-47.

Bowdoin did not go away, again answering the Bobcat run on a pick-and-roll from Mayol to Royer and another Mayol trifecta, tying the game at 52-52 with 2:45 on the clock. Dockery put the Bobcats up 54-52 on an assist from Flaherty with 1:43 left. After a pair of missed shots by the Polar Bears and a turnover and a miss by Bates, Mayol missed a 3-pointer with 22 ticks on the clock, but Bowdoin sophomore Kristina Fugate (Glenview, Ill.) got the offensive rebound.

The Polar Bears called timeout and called an isolation play for Trenkle, who took the ball strong to the hoop, scored and got fouled by Dockery. Trenkle then missed her only free throw of the evening. Flaherty got the rebound with six seconds left, dished the ball to Dockery, who drove the length of the floor and picked up the blocking foul on Trenkle with 0:00.6 on the clock. Dockery calmly sank both free throws to give the Bobcats the upset.

Flaherty led all players with a season-high 21 points on nine-of-14 shooting. Zurek had 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds, while Golobski added seven points and four assists. Bates shot 40 percent from the floor and owned a 39-30 rebounding advantage.

Trenkle led Bowdoin with 16 points and five rebounds, while Royer had 12 points and Mayol 11. With the loss, Bowdoin sees its school-record 15 game winning streak snapped. Washington University of St. Louis and Hardin-Simmons University are the last two unbeatens in women's Division III play

Box score available