BRUNSWICK, Maine – Taking the floor in a NESCAC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament semifinal for the first time since winning it all two seasons ago, Bates College did not skip a beat as the No. 3 seeded Bobcats topped No. 2 Trinity, 74-68.

The win sets up a championship game showdown with top-seed and host Bowdoin, which defeated No. 4 Middlebury, 61-54, in the day's first semifinal game. Tip is set for Sunday at noon.

In a rematch of their 2021-22 semifinal contest, which the Bobcats won (57-55) on the Bantams' home floor, the Bantams started the contest with an offensive spurt of 8-0 before Alyson Kennedy drained a three-pointer with 6:35 to go in the first quarter. With Trinity creating an early 10-3 lead,  Bates head coach Alison Montgomery called a 30-second timeout at the 4:54 mark.

The breather seemed to work as Kennedy immediately connected on her second three-ball with 4:42 to go, cutting the Bobcat deficit to 10-6.

The initial period of play was marred by three turnovers and an infraction for the garnet and white. Trinity dominated the offensive glass, grabbing eight rebounds, resulting in six second-chance points.

Bates was able to develop some offensive momentum, closing the first on a 9-6 run to slice the Bantam lead to 16-12 after 10:00 of play.

After falling behind 24-15 4:02 into the second quarter, a Bobcat push of 8-2, capped by a Morgan Kennedy three, sliced the Bantams' lead to 26-23 with 3:23 remaining.

Kennedy's deep three-pointer at the 1:03 mark tied the game at 26-26 before Trinity's Indy DelRocco immediately followed with a mid-range jumper to put Trinity back up by a bucket.

Kennedy countered by cashing in a pair at the charity stripe at 00:17, resulting in a 28-28 stalemate heading into intermission.

Alexandra Long's driving lay-up provided the Bobcats their first lead of the day (30-28) at 9:06 of the third. Alyson Kennedy followed with her third trey of the game (8:38) to put Bates up by five.

The Bantams answered by outscoring the Bobcats, 10-2, over the next 4:31 to go back ahead by three (38-35) with 4:07 to go in the frame.

Another timeout, another offensive answer for Bates as a three-pointer by Long banked high off the glass before falling through with the tying points at 3:38 to knot the game at 38-all.

Morgan Kennedy, 3-for-4 from downtown on the afternoon, swished her third three of the game with 0:30 on the clock to put the 'Cats up by three (43-40) heading into the fourth.

The Bobcats opened the last period of regulation with a 12-8 run as a crafty Long layup put Bates ahead by seven (55-48) with 5:47 left. 

A Trinity time-up followed, but it did little to contain Bates' momentum as the 'Cats cashed in on a 14-11 sprint to create a game-high, 10-point advantage over the Bantams (69-59) with just 30 seconds left.

In a fourth period which witnessed both teams combining for an astounding 59 points, the Bantams outscored the Bobcats 9-5 over the final half-minute, but to no avail.

Shooting 26-for-53 from the floor, the Bobcats hit for 49.1% from the field and connected on 7-of-15 three-point attempts.

Morgan Kennedy topped all players with 23 points in the victory, going 7-for-10 from the field and draining all six of her free-throw attempts.

Alyson Kennedy added a career-high 13 points of her own as the senior matched her sister with three three-pointers. Elsa Daulerio recorded 16 points while Long hit for nine points and contributed three blocks on the defensive end of the floor.

The aforementioned DelRocco paced Trinity (19-7) with 22 points as the junior went a stellar nine-for-nine from the line.

Bates (22-4) now looks to Sunday's rematch vs. the 24-2 Polar Bears. The Bobcats defeated then No, 10 ranked Bowdoin in Alumni Gym, 72-57, back on Feb. 2 in the rivals' last meeting.

Bowdoin will be making its 14th appearance in the NESCAC championship game, the most of any school, and first since 2020.

Tickets to Sunday's game in Brunswick, Maine can be purchased by clicking here!