Lewiston, Maine - Senior center Courtney Erickson (Everett, Mass.) had 17 points and eight rebounds to lead the visiting Trinity College Bantams to a 59-49 win over the Bates College Bobcats in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's basketball action this evening at Alumni Gymnasium. Trinity, ranked No. 7 in New England, improves to 19-4 overall and 6-3 in the NESCAC with its fourth consecutive victory, and will close the 2018-19 regular season at NESCAC rival Tufts, ranked No. 4 in New England and No. 6 in the nation. Bates, which is now 11-12 overall and 2-8 in the league, hosts Southern Maine in its final game of the year on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
The first quarter was a back-and-forth battle, and Erickson tied the game at 17-all with a layup at the buzzer. Erickson and first-year teammate Bailey Hyland (Brioad Brook, Conn.) took over in the second quarter with 13 of the Bantams' 16 points, while the Trinity defense held Bates to one field goal in 11 attempts. Trinity led, 21-19, with 7:12 left in the half, before Erickson and Hyland scored nine in a row followed by a three-pointer with 21 seconds left by Trinity rookie Kaylen Campbell (Hillsborough, N.C.). Erickson led all scorers with 15 points and Trinity led, 33-19, at the break.
Bates cut the deficit to 36-27 with 6:44 left in the third quarter on a Melanie Binkhorst (West Hartford, Conn.) three-pointer, but the Bantams closed the third quarter with a 10-3, run including six points by junior Peace Kabari (Manchester, N.H.), to lead, 46-30, after 30 minutes. Bantam first-year Katie Kirsch (Pelham, N.H.) scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to ignite 9-0 spurt that gave the visitors a 55-30 lead at the eight-minute mark. The Bobcats answered with a 14-0 run of their own to close the gap to 55-44 with 2:10 left in the game, as sophomore Julia Middlebrook (Ridgefield, Conn.) scored all eight of her points during the run. Hyland scored three of the next four points, before Bates scored five in a row to make it, 59-49, as time expired.
Hyland joined Erickson in double figures in scoring for Trinity with 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Kabari tallied seven points, a game-high 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocked shots. Binkhorst paced the Bobcats with 10 points and seven rebounds. Trinity shot 40.4% from the floor to Bates' 30.5%. Trinity also controlled things in the post, outscoring Bates, 28-12, down low.