Kellie Goodridge '10 contributed 9 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists for the Bobcats.

LEWISTON, Maine -- Four players scored in double figures as the University of Southern Maine women's basketball team got past host Bates College 67-57 in a non-league contest on Tuesday night at Alumni Gym.

Junior Val Beckwith (Woburn, Mass.) scored a team-high 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting and added three steals for Bates (2-1), which suffered its first loss of the season. The  Bobcats were outrebounded 39-25, and Southern Maine (4-0) built a big advantage at the foul line, hitting 19 of 22 shots from the charity stripe while Bates attempted just 4 foul shots, hitting 3 -- all by sophomore Christine McCall (Lowell, Mass.), who had 10 points and 4 rebounds in the game.

Stacey Kent scored 17 points (13 in the first half) with 6 rebuonds, Haley Johnson added a career-high 15 points with 9 rebounds, Nicole Paradis chipped in with 12 points (10 in the first half) and Kristi Violette had a double-double with a career-high 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Huskies (4-0). Kaylie DeMillo passed out a game-high 6 assists.

The first half went back and forth, with seven ties and nine lead changes, as Bates' 5-of-6 shooting from behind the arc helped offset Southern Maine's 14-15 free throw shooting and 14-27 (.519) performance from the field. Bates went ahead 17-12 on a layup by McCall with 11:22 remaining in the half, but the Huskies answered with an 11-0 run , featuring five points by Kent and four by Paradis. Bates would retake the lead, but Southern Maine finished the period with seven straight points, including a putback by Johnson that beat the final buzzer, and the Huskies went into halftime with a 42-35 advantage.

Bates retook the lead by starting the second half with an 11-0 run of its own, fueled by three-pointers from first-year Annie Burns (Topsfield, Mass.), junior Kellie Goodridge (Merrimack, N.H.) and Beckwith. Bates led 49-44 with 13:58 to play, but USM answered with a 10-0 run, with four points each by Johnson and Renee Nicholas, for a 49-44 edge with 9:36 left. The Huskies held the Bobcats to 8 points in the final 14 minutes to sew up the victory.

Goodridge submitted a strong all-around performance with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Burns chipped in 6 points and 4 assists, and sophomore Brittney French (Auburn, Maine) added 6 points on 3-of-4 shooting.

Bates built a 24-10 advantage in bench points in the game, but USM outscored Bates 38-20 in the paint.

Bates will play at Husson on Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.; USM plays at Bowdoin the same day at 7:30 p.m.

STATS: Southern Maine 67, Bates 57