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| Kyla Decato '06 gave a typically aggressive and productive performance in her last regular season game at Alumni Gym. |
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| Annie Whiting '06 grabbed four rebounds and scored four points in her regular-season finale. |
BOX SCORE
LEWISTON, Maine -- Meg Coffin and Matia Kostakis combined for 35 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Bates College women's basketball team to a 76-46 win over Trinity College in their regular season finale on Saturday.
The win, combined with Bowdoin College's win over Williams, gives Bates the top seed in the NESCAC playoffs, which start Saturday, Feb. 18. No. 1 Bates (17-7, 8-1 NESCAC) will face No. 8 Colby (9-14, 2-7 NESCAC) in the quarterfinal round at 2 p.m. If the Bobcats defeat the Mules in that game, Bates will host the semifinals and championship game the following weekend.
It's the first time Bates has claimed the top seed since the NESCAC women's basketball tournament began in 2001, and only the second time Bowdoin hasn't claimed it (Amherst did in 2001). The Bobcats also finished the regular season with a perfect 8-0 home record.
Trinity (8-14, 3-6 NESCAC) earns the No. 6 seed and will play at No. 3 Wesleyan on Saturday.
Coffin (Westford, Mass.) scored 19 points, shot 8-for-11 from the floor and grabbed 11 rebounds in just 24 minutes of play for Bates, her 13th double-double of the season. Kostakis (Andover, Mass.) added 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go with 10 boards.
In her last regular-season game at Alumni Gymnasium, aggressive senior guard Kyla Decato (Paris, Maine) scored 11 points and came up with four steals, three rebounds and a game-high total of floor burns. Senior forward Annie Whiting (Contoocook, N.H.) added four points and four rebounds.
Sarah Cox (Norwell, Mass.), the current NESCAC Player of the Week, led the Bantams with 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Her teammate Catherine Maher (Newtown, Conn.) added 10 points in just 14 minutes before walking off the floor late in the first half and not returning to action with an undisclosed injury.
Already undermanned with eight dressed players at the game's beginning, and no one taller than 5-10, the Bantams could ill afford to lose Maher. Trinity stayed within nine points of Bates late in the first half on a pair of jumpers by Kathleen Conlon (Sagamore, Mass.) and Cox. But the deeper Bobcats pulled away in the second half, as a turnaround by Coffin and a three-pointer by Jackie Powers (Andover, Mass.) started a 21-4 run over the first eight minutes of the second half.
BATES 76, TRINITY COLLEGE 46
TRINITY COLLEGE (8-14, 3-6 NESCAC)
Sarah Cox 6-24 2-2 14; Catherine Maher 4-10 0-0 10; Mary Lennick 2-9 2-2 6; Leigh Melanson 3-8 0-1 6; Kathleen Conlon 2-6 2-3 6; Catherine Doyle 0-1 2-2 2; Jasmine Johnson 1-1 0-0 2; Lindsey Freeman 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-61 8-10 46.
BATES (17-7, 8-1 NESCAC)
Meg Coffin 8-11 3-3 19; Matia Kostakis 7-13 2-3 16; Kyla Decato 4-9 2-2 11; Jackie Powers 2-7 1-2 6; Val Beckwith 2-5 1-2 5; Katie Franklin 2-6 1-2 5; Annie Whiting 2-5 0-0 4; Maggie Fitzgerald 2-6 0-0 4; Katy Kerkian-Winton 1-1 0-0 2; Mary Hart 0-1 0-0 0; Sarah Barton 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 30-66 14-20 76.
Trinity College............... 25 21 - 46
Bates......................... 36 40 - 76
3-point goals-Trinity College 2-9 (Catherine Maher 2-6; Kathleen Conlon 0-1; Sarah Cox 0-2), Bates 2-12 (Jackie Powers 1-4; Kyla Decato 1-2; Katie Franklin 0-1; Maggie Fitzgerald 0-2; Sarah Barton 0-2; Meg Coffin 0-1). Fouled out--Trinity College-None, Bates-None. Rebounds-Trinity College 37 (Leigh Melanson 10), Bates 44 (Meg Coffin 11). Assists-Trinity College 5 (Mary Lennick 2; Leigh Melanson 2), Bates 18 (Sarah Barton 6). Total fouls-Trinity College 14, Bates 12. A-311
