BANGOR, Maine -- Bates first-year guard Meredith Kelly (Cohasset, Mass.) scored a season-high 19 points, including the go-ahead basket with 1:58 left in the game, while sophomore Allie Beaulieu (Swampscott, Mass.) added 18 points and six rebounds as the Bates College women's basketball team held on for an 84-79 non-conference win at in-state rival Husson University on Monday night.
The Bobcats led by as many as 20 points early in the second half, but Husson clawed all the way back to tie the game with 2:23 left.
Junior Lauren Dobish (Chambersburg, Pa.) scored 14 points for Bates, including 12 in the first half. Junior Annie Burns (Topsfield, Mass.) scored eight points to go with eight assists, senior Jessie Igoe (Lexington, Mass.) added 10 points and four blocked shots, and senior Christine McCall (Lowell, Mass.) chipped in with nine points, five rebounds and three assists.
Bates got out to a 6-0 lead on three straight buckets by won the tip and started on a 6-0 run by Igoe. After a media timeout with 8:12 left in the period and Bates leading 25-21, the Bobcats went on a 14-2 run, kicked off by a Dobish three and including seven points by Beaulieu. A Beaulieu three with 1:00 left in the period sent the Bobcats into halftime with a 48-30 lead.
Husson (0-3) opened the second half on a 14-6 run powered by Bethany Sevey and Brianna Hanscom, and after 10 minutes of play Husson cut the lead to 8 points, 60-52. Beaulieu answered with back-to-back three-pointers, both assisted by Burns, to push the lead to 66-54. Burns set up a Kelly hoop with 8:15 to go to make it 68-54.
Husson wasn't ready to go away yet. A three by Noelle Lincoln and four points by Amanda Gifford fueled a 10-0 Husson run, and the Eagles whittled the lead all the way down to one, at 70-69, on a three-point play by Bethany Sevey with 4:21 left. McCall hit a three-pointer for Bates, but back-to-back hoops by Hanscom tied the game at 75 with 2:23 to go.
Kelly responded with a hoop, assisted by Flaherty, to make it 77-75 Bates with 1:58 to play. A missed shot by Kelli Murray was rebounded by McCall, and Gifford put Burns on the free-throw line with 1:11 to go. Burns hit both foul shots, and Bates was 7-for-8 at the line over the final 71 seconds of the game to preserve the victory.
For Husson, Hanscom ended the game with a double-double, scoring 18 points, snatching 10 rebounds, and also contributing six assists. Sevey ended the game with 18 points and four rebounds. Kelli Murray contributed 13 points and Gifford ended the game with 11 points and six assists.