LEWISTON, Maine -- A dominant second half pushed No. 3 seed Bates College to a first round victory in the NESCAC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament Saturday as the Bobcats handled No. 6 Hamilton by a score of 66-50.

The win puts the garnet and white in the NESCAC semifinals for the second time in three years as the 2021-22 champions will now take on No. 2 Trinity next Saturday in Brunswick, Maine (hosted by top-seed Bowdoin College). The Bantams, which knocked off No. 7 Colby in its quarterfinal contest, defeated Bates, 59-45, last Friday in Hartford, Conn.

Saturday's contest was the first time the Bobcats hosted a postseason game since Feb. 21, 2009 (vs. Trinity) and marked the program's first playoff win on the Alumni Gym hardwood since Feb. 25, 2006 (vs. Williams) in the NESCAC semifinals.

Sophomore center Elsa Daulerio (Harpswell, Maine) had a huge game once again, with 16 points, four blocks, and nine rebounds on her tally. First-year guard Sarah Hughes (Rumson, N.J.) was electric off the bench with 11 points and seven boards. Senior captain Davina Kabantu (Portland, Maine) fueled the Bobcats on both sides of the ball with her high-motor play as she finished with seven points and five rebounds. Senior captain Morgan Kennedy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) was the usual suspect, having another great performance with 17 points, six rebounds, and two assists. 

Kabantu set a strong tone for the Bobcats early on, tearing the ball from Taylor Lambo's hands for a hard-fought defensive rebound and then hitting a huge three pointer with 8:09 on the clock to get the crowd fired up. 

Hamilton was held scoreless for the first 2:30 of the game, and while Bates did have an early fury of scoring, they were unable to fully capitalize on Hamilton's early drought as the first quarter came to an end with a score of 11-9 in favor of the Bobcats. 

Hughes got the Alumni Gym crowd back on their feet early into the second quarter, grabbing a defensive rebound and then twisting the Hamilton defense into a knot on the way to a huge and-one layup with 8:44 in the period. 

Neither team could get shots to fall consistently, with Hamilton shooting 29% from the field and Bates shooting 35.5%, but the 'Cats were stellar when it came to forcing turnovers. Hamilton's nine turnovers, compared to four for Bates, were crucial pieces to the home team holding onto an early lead and ending the half with a 29-23 surplus. 

The Bobcats came out of the gate firing in the second half, scoring 11 unanswered points over the first three minutes of the quarter. Led by Daulerio and Kabantu, who each hit two huge buckets apiece, Bates set an aggressive tone to the stanza. 

Morgan Kennedy followed with a huge three-pointer with 5:55 in the quarter that put Bates ahead by 20 (45-25). 

Bates had one of their best quarters of offense in the third, outscoring Hamilton, 24-7, on a mind boggling 68.8% shooting. Bates' defense was equally impressive as the Bobcats permitted just one field goal during the session. A complete team-effort resulted in a dominant 56-33 lead with only one quarter separating them from a huge quarterfinal win.