LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates College women's basketball team shook off a
resilient Husson University team to notch a 77-68 non-conference victory
in the Bobcats' home opener at Alumni Gym on Tuesday.

Bates' win offset a huge game from Husson senior Shelby Bradford (Lee,
Maine), who scored 28 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, including 20
points on 9-of-11 shooting and seven rebounds in the second half.
Bradford also had three blocks and three steals. Bethany Sevey
(Skowhegan, Maine) was the only other Eagle to score in double figures,
with 12. Noelle Lincoln (Dixmont, Maine) grabbed nine rebounds and
dished out a team-high five assists.

First-year forward Taryn O'Connell (Georgetown, Mass.) led four Bobcats
(2-2) in double figures with 17 points, while Lauren Yanofsky (Belmont,
Mass.) added 11 points, six assists and six blocked shots. Annie Burns
(Topsfield, Mass.) had a career-high nine steals to go with nine assists
and eight points, and junior Christine McCall (Lowell, Mass.) grabbed a
team-high 10 rebounds. First-year players Allie Beaulieu (Swampscott,
Mass.) and Bri Hawkins (South Portland, Maine) scored 11 and 10 points,
respectively.

Husson outrebounded Bates 53-34 but turned the ball over 33 times,
compared to only 16 for Bates, and the Bobcats turned that into a
whopping 36-2 advantage in points off of turnovers.

After Bates started the game off on a 9-4 run, Husson came back to tie
the game at 11 on a Bradford layup, then went on an 11-1 run for a 22-16
lead with 5:59 to play in the first half.

Beaulieu keyed a Bates surge to answer the Eagles, draining two
3-pointers in a 13-second span, then adding another one two minutes
later after McCall had hit one of her own. A block by McCall and a layup
by McCall on an O'Connell assist made it 29-22 Bates with 3:41 to play.
A layup by Kellie Goodridge with under a minute left sent the Bobcats
into intermission with a 40-31 lead.

Husson fought to stay in the game early in the second half, and a three
by Lincoln cut the gap to 46-42 with 13:41 to play. Bates built the lead
back to as many as 16 points at 60-44 with 8:16 left, but Husson fought
back by dominating the boards and taking repeated trips to the foul
line. Bradford scored 13 points over the final five minutes as Husson
charged back to within four points at 66-62, 70-66 and finally at 72-68
with 39 seconds left in the game. Yanofsky found O'Connell open
underneath for a layup to bump the lead back to 74-68 with 35 ticks
left. Husson turned the ball over on its next two possessions, and Bates
hit three of four foul shots in the final 27 seconds to ice the win.