| Don't you just love the classic look of Bates'
gymnasium? Bates athletics file photo |
LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates College women's basketball team upended rival and No. 23 nationally ranked Colby College in overtime on Thursday night, 93-87 in overtime, behind a career-high 21 points by junior Lauren Dobish (Chambersburg, Pa.) and senior Jessie Igoe's (Lexington, Mass.) 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Mules (8-2) received a 32-point effort from Diana Manduca, as well as 21 points from Aarika Ritchie.
Bates (10-2) fell behind by as many as 10 points in the first period, as Ritchie scored nine points in a game-opening 19-9 run by the Mules. But Bates cut the lead down to two (22-20) with an 11-3 run over a span of less than three minutes, fueled by seven points from Dobish. As the period waned to a close, junior Kelsey Flaherty's (South Portland, Maine) putback narrowed the Colby lead to 38-36, but Julianne Kowalski answered with a buzzer-beating jumper on a Ritchie assist to send Colby into intermission with a 40-36 lead.
Bates exploded to start out the second half. After a jumper by Colby's Jacky McLaughlin opened the period, the Bobcats turned a six-point deficit into an 11-point lead (59-48) in the opening seven minutes of the period. The 23-6 run by Bates included three-pointers by Dobish, junior Annie Burns (Topsfield, Mass.) and sophomore Taryn O'Connell (Georgetown, Mass.), as well as three steals and two assists by Burns.
It was Colby's turn to claw back into the game, and Manduca started the Mules' response with a steal and a layup, followed by a three that cut it to 59-53 with 11:57 left. Colby cut it to three on a pair of free throws by Rachael Mack, and went 8-for-8 at the line over a three-minute stretch to hang in tight with the Bobcats. Mack went to the line with a chance to tie the game with 3:15 to go -- she hit the first one, making the Mules 23-for-23 at the line to that point, but missed the second one, and Bates held onto a 73-72 lead.
Manduca hit two more free throws with 2:37 to go to tie the game at 74. A missed layup attempt by McCall was followed by a deep Manduca three that gave Colby the lead back at 77-74, with 1:51 left in regulation.
Flaherty hit one of two foul shots with 1:35 to play, closing the gap to 77-75. The teams then traded scoreless possessions before Manduca was called for an offensive foul, giving Bates the ball back. Igoe made a jumper in the paint on a Burns feed with 11 seconds left, tying the game at 77-77, and Manduca missed the would-be game-winning shot at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime.
The Mules were held scoreless in the extra period until Jil Vaughan hit a jumper with 1:13 left -- in the meantime, the Bobcats built an 84-77 lead, with a pair of foul shots by McCall and back-to-back hoops by Igoe. Another jumper by Igoe answered Vaughan's hoop, and Flaherty hit a pair of foul shots to extend the lead to an unassailable 88-79 with 39 seconds left.
Burns finished with a game-high seven assists for Bates, while Igoe dished out a career-high five helpers. Senior Christine McCall (Lowell, Mass.) and O'Connell scored 12 points apiece, with O'Connell making all five of her field goal attempts, and Flaherty also had a big game with nine points, four rebounds and three steals.
For Colby, Manduca had a team-high five assists, and Kowalski posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. Mack chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds.
Bates committed only 10 turnovers in the game to Colby's 22, and the Bobcats outscored the Mules 32-7 in points off turnovers, 42-20 in points in the paint and 22-8 in bench points.
Bates plays host to Maine Maritime Academy tomorrow night at 7 p.m. The game can be followed via Live Stats and Live Video Webcast.