LEWISTON, Maine -- Junior
Annie Burns scored nine points, dished out eight assists and made six steals to lead the Bates College women's basketball team to a 77-40 win over Maine Maritime Academy on Friday night.
The Bobcats (11-2) never trailed en route to their fourth straight victory, though the Mariners (5-5) kept the game close for most of the first half.
Eleven players scored for Bates, led by senior Christine McCall's (Lowell, Mass.) 12 points. McCall also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Sophomore Taryn O'Connell (Georgetown, Mass.) scored 11 points, while Burns (Topsfield, Mass.), senior Jessie Igoe (Lexington, Mass.) and junior Kelsey Flaherty (South Portland, Maine) scored nine points apiece.
MMA junior Maggie Smith (Bath, Maine) scored a game-high 15 points and added three assists. Sophomore Leah Jackson (Dedham, Maine) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and scored seven points.
Bates drew Maine Maritime into 30 turnovers while committing 15, leading to a 36-9 advantage in points off turnovers. Bates outrebounded Maine Maritime by a 44-37 margin, and outscored the Mariners 14-0 in second-chance points.
Early in the first half, MMA's Smith hit a pair of free throws, then made a steal and hit a jumper at the other end to tie the game 9-9. Bates sophomore Brianna Hawkins (South Portland, Maine) made a layup at the 14:41 mark to give Bates the lead for good at 11-9. MMA whittled the lead down to 15-13 at the 9:03 mark, but a pair of three-pointers by O'Connell spurred a 17-7 Bates run to finish out the period, with the score 32-20 in Bates' favor.
Smith hit a jumper to open the second half, but another three by O'Connell kick-started another Bates run -- McCall had two layups, and Burns added a three and a pair of free throws that put the Bobcats into a 46-26 lead with 16:05 left in the game. Bates only extended the lead from that point on, as MMA continued to struggle from the floor, hitting 25.9 percent in the half, 25.5% for the game.
Bates plays host to NESCAC rival Bowdoin in a non-conference game on Tuesday at 8 p.m. The game can be followed via Live Stats and Live Video Webcast.
BOX SCORE: Bates 77, Maine Maritime 40