Sophomore Melanie Binkhorst scored a game-high 13 points on Saturday, February 3, 2018 at No. 1 nationally ranked Amherst. (File photo by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

AMHERST, Mass. -- Sophomore Melanie Binkhorst scored a game-high 13 points but the No. 1 nationally ranked Amherst Mammoths pulled away to defeat the Bates women's basketball team 58-31 Saturday afternoon. 

The defending national champion Mammoths (22-0, 8-0 NESCAC) remained undefeated on the season, handing the Bobcats (7-16, 1-8 NESCAC) their fifth straight loss. 

Jackie Nagle led a balanced Amherst attack with 12 points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots. Emma McCarthy scored 11 points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished out three assists. Hannah Hackley joined them in double figures with 10 points and a game-high four assists.

Binkhorst (West Hartford, Conn.) shot 3-12 from the floor but did a lot of her damage at the line, making six of eight free throws. She pulled down three rebounds, tallied two assists and blocked three shots. First-year Taylor McVeigh (Hanson, Mass.) had another solid game, scoring eight points on 3-4 shooting off the bench. Senior captain Lexie Nason (Boxford, Mass.) paced Bates with five rebounds.

First-year Julia Middlebrook (Ridgefield, Conn.) knocked down a jumper to start the game, putting Bates up 2-0. She finished with seven points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal.

McCarthy tied the game at two with a layup with 9:04 left in the first quarter and Amherst took the lead for good on a Hackley three-pointer with 8:07 remaining in the first.

The Mammoths sprinted out to an 11-2 lead before a McVeigh layup with 4:24 left in the quarter. Then McVeigh made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 11-6. That's the closest Bates got for the remainder of the game as Amherst went on a 9-3 run to end the quarter, grabbing a 20-9 lead.

Amherst's defense was outstanding. The Mammoths held the Bobcats to nine points in the first quarter, seven in the second, nine in the third and six in the fourth quarter of action. 

The Bobcats played some solid defense of their own, holding Amherst to just 35% shooting from the floor. The Mammoths grabbed 54 rebounds to the Bobcats' 28 on the afternoon. They also recorded 32 points in the paint to Bates' 10. 

The Bates women's basketball team wraps up its regular season Friday at Trinity College. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m.