Senior captain Meghan Graff poured in a season-high 33 points and the Bates women's basketball team rolled to a 74-48 win over Colby Tuesday night in non-conference action at Alumni Gym.
Graff (South Portland, Maine) shot 12-22 from the floor in the second-highest scoring output of her career. The reigning Maine Co-Player of the Week made all nine of her free throws, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out two assists in a superlative performance.
The Bobcats (5-2) never trailed the Mules (3-4) on their way to a third straight win over their rivals from Waterville.
With the game tied at six, junior Davina Kabantu (Portland, Maine) drilled a three on an assist from Graff with 4:32 left in the first quarter, putting Bates ahead for good.
Colby kept the game close throughout the first quarter, with Carter McGloon scoring four of her 12 points, and the Bobcats led just 14-12 after one.
But the Bobcats started the second quarter on an 8-0 run, taking a 22-12 lead thanks to a pair of free throws from junior Delaney Nwachukwu (Avon, Conn.) with 8:02 left until halftime.
The Mules pulled to within eight a few times and were within nine at 33-24 when the Bobcats went on a quick 5-0 run to end the half, with all five points coming from Graff. Graff out-scored Colby 13-12 by herself in the second quarter.
It was more of the same in the third quarter, with Graff scoring 14 points on 5-7 shooting and Colby finishing with 12 points as a team on 5-12 shooting. The Bobcats went up 58-36 on a Graff jumper at the horn.
In a weird twist, the Mules scored 12 points in each of the four quarters on Tuesday, with the Bobcats varying it up, scoring 14 in the first, 24 in the second, 20 in the third, and 16 in the fourth.
Caroline Smith paced the Mules with 16 points on 5-9 shooting. McGloon grabbed eight rebounds to go along with her 12 points on 5-9 shooting. No one else finished with more than four points for Colby.
Junior Morgan Kennedy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) chipped in 10 points for the Bobcats. First-year Elsa Daulerio (Harpswell, Maine) turned in a strong performance with eight points on 4-6 shooting, four rebounds, and four blocked shots. Kabantu added six points, three rebounds, an assist, and three steals.
The Bobcats shot 45.8 percent from the floor and held Colby to 34% shooting. Bates also made 17-21 from the line to Colby's 10-14 on the night.
Bates is back in action Thursday when the Bobcats host rival Bowdoin at 7pm in another non-conference game.
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