Sophomore Alexandra Long scored a team-high 15 points and first-year Ava James added a career-high 13 in the Bates women’s basketball team’s 68-56 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies Monday night in non-conference action.
The Bobcats (11-10) doubled up the Huskies (5-16) in the first quarter by a count of 20-10, and never looked back, leading by as many as 20 points in the contest.
With the score tied at five, junior Morgan Kennedy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) hit a three-pointer with 6:56 left in the first quarter, putting Bates ahead for good. It prompted a 10-0 run for the Bobcats, with another Kennedy three extending the lead to 15-5 with 4:13 remaining in the opening stanza.
Bates outscored the Huskies 22-14 in the second quarter, with James (Bethesda, Md.) knocking down a jumper with five seconds remaining until halftime to put the Bobcats ahead by a count of 42-24 at the intermission.
USM pulled to within 10 on a Mackenzie Roderick three with 3:19 left in the contest, but that’s as close as the Huskies got down the stretch. James had the answer, knocking down a jumper off an offensive rebound. She finished the night 5-6 from the floor, grabbing seven rebounds along the way.
Long (Newtown, Pa.) had another strong game, shooting 6-12 from the field, dishing out a game-high six assists, and tallying five rebounds. Long has now finished in double figures in the scoring column in three of the past four games, after having scored in double figures just three times in the first 17 contests.
First-year Elsa Daulerio (Harpswell, Maine) also finished in double figures, scoring 10 points on 5-12 shooting and tallying six rebounds. Senior Jenna Berens (Durham, Conn.) turned in a solid performance, with six points on 3-5 shooting. She also matched James in rebounding with a game-high seven.
Bates did not shoot well (37.9%) but the Bobcats dominated the turnover battle, as USM turned the ball over 19 times to Bates’ nine. The Bobcats recorded 19 points off turnovers while the Huskies managed just four.
Bates returns to conference play this Friday at 7pm when No. 11 nationally ranked Trinity visits Alumni Gym for a rematch of last season’s NESCAC semifinal.
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