BOX SCORE

FARMINGTON, Maine — The UMaine-Farmington women’s basketball team scored a surprise win over in-state rival Bates College, ranked No. 17 in the latest USA Today Division III poll, with a 62-59 victory at Farmington Tuesday night.

The Beavers (3-1) held the Bobcats (4-3) to just three free throws over the final six minutes of the game, while erasing a 12-point deficit for their first win over Bates since 1997.

Kari Simpson led the Beavers with 23 points to go with 10 rebounds, while Karen Sirois added 11 points and eight assists. Melissa Sawyer grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds, and Brandi Rideout contributed 11 points, five rebounds and five assists.

The Beavers forced 28 Bates turnovers and held the Bobcats to 33.8 percent shooting from the floor, including 24.3 percent in the first half. Bates maintained a 52-37 edge in rebounding.

Meg Coffin (Westford, Mass.) scored 18 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and had four steals and three blocked shots for Bates. Sarah Barton (Portsmouth, N.H.) added nine points, 13 rebounds, four assists and five steals, but the two Bobcats combined for 15 turnovers. Val Beckwith (Woburn, Mass.) added 13 points.

Bates is off until Dec. 20, when the Bobcats travel to Las Vegas for the D3 Desert Shootout, and a game against Baldwin-Wallace College.