Lewiston, Maine - Senior forward Hannah Brickley (Melrose, Mass.) had 16 points and nine rebounds and classmate Shantel Hanniford (Nantucket, Mass.) added 15 points and seven boards off the bench to lead the visiting Trinity College Bantams to a 72-55 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) victory over the the Bates College Bobcat women's basketball team this evening at Alumni Gym. Trinity improves to 10-5 overall and moves into sole possession of first place in the league with its sixth consecutive win. Bates falls to 7-8 overall and 0-2 in the conference. Trinity faces unbeaten and No. 7-ranked Tufts tomorrow on the road at 2 p.m.

Trinity senior guard Moriah Sweeney (Ramsey, N.J.) added 10 points, five rebounds and five assists for the Bantams, who erased a 33-29 halftime deficit by outscoring Bates 31-9 over the first 11:31 of the second half. Chelsea Nason led Bates with 15 its his third timeout of the second half to try and stem Trinity's big rally to start the period, as they took a 45-36 lead at the 14:25 mark on a fast-break layup by senior Taylor Murtaugh (Bronx, N.Y.) from classmate Abigail Hancock (Casco, Maine). Bates called time again with 12:02 to go when Trinity ballooned its lead to 51-38.

Trinity appeared to be in control of the game, but Bates made a run late, forcing turnovers and getting threes by first-year Bernadette Connors and Nason that prompted a Bantam timeout at 2:42 with the lead down to 64-53. Bates scores again to cut its deficit to single digits at 64-55, but Trinity responded with layups by Hanniford and Murtagh to open it back up to 68-55 with 1:01 left to play.

Trinity was forced into 15 turnovers in the first half, a big factor in Bates' 33-29 lead at the intermission. The Bantams grabbed seven offensive rebounds en route to a 16-9 edge on the boards in the period. The Bobcats made 4-of-8 shots from three-point land before the break, including two by Nason, who netted eight points in the period. Kelly had 11 at the half, powered by a 7-of-8 performance at the free-throw line. For Trinity, Brickley made 4-of-7 from the field thanks to four offensive boards for a team-high eight points in the first half.