By Henry Kolani

LEWISTON, Maine -- Four Bobcats finished in double figures scoring and the Bates women's basketball team held off a pesky Saint Joseph's College of Maine squad to prevail 73-67 Saturday night at Alumni Gym.

Sophomore Sarah Hughes (Rumson, N.J.) led the way in the scoring column for Bates for the second straight game, tallying 19 points on a 7-11 shooting, adding two assists and four rebounds. Hughes' three-point shooting has been lethal to begin the season, most notably in this game when she drilled a bomb from beyond the arc with 6:28 on the clock in the third quarter to put the Bobcats back up by eight after Saint Joseph's had cut the lead to two with 8:22 remaining in the third. 

Hughes was not alone in the scoring barrage for the Bobcats. First-year Lily Brown (Dallas, Texas) shot the lights out in her opportunities, going 5-7 from the field, good for 11 points, with a three-pointer that sent Alumni Gym into a frenzy late in the first half. Senior captain Alexandra Long (Newtown, Pa.) was a force on all sides of the ball, scoring 11 points, with five rebounds, six assists, and a steal to finish her day. 

Junior Elsa Daulerio (Harpswell, Maine) chipped in 11 points with seven rebounds and a blocked shot. Junior Ava James (Bethesda, Md.) was a defensive monster for the 'Cats, as her team leading three blocks and two steals came with five rebounds to follow suit. 

Bates (2-0) was able to overcome an early cold streak in the first half to assert control by the break. Shooting 3-11 in the first six and a half minutes of the contest, largely due to strong defensive play by the Monks (1-2), the Bobcats proceeded to knock down 12 of their next 19 shots to end the half up by a score of 34-27. 

Saint Joseph's would bring the game to within four points with 2:12 remaining in regulation, but the Bobcats were not to be denied down the stretch, pulling away in the final minute to end the game with a six-point margin of victory. 

Saint Joseph's Angelica Hurley led all scorers with 24 points and five rebounds, hitting several incredibly clutch shots to keep the Monks in the game late. 

The two teams matched each other almost shot for shot, with Bates' 50% mark slightly outpacing the Monks' 46.6% shooting performance. 

The Bobcats will look to continue their string of early performances and bring themselves to 3-0 on the young season when they square off with Albertus Magnus on Rhode Island College's campus this Friday at 8 p.m.