LEWISTON, Maine -- Sophomore Morgan Kennedy drained six three-pointers on her way to game-high 20 points and the Bates women's basketball team rolled to a 79-45 win over Clark University Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium. 

Kennedy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) hit five of her threes in an explosive third quarter that saw Bates (6-1) outscore Clark (5-4) 24-12. Kennedy tallied half of the Bobcats' points in the quarter. 

Sophomore Davina Kabantu (Portland, Maine) added 12 points and senior Ariana Dalia (Brick, N.J.) chipped in 10 on 4-6 shooting for the Bobcats. Junior captain Meghan Graff (South Portland, Maine) tallied seven points and dished out a game-high seven assists. 

The Bobcats smothered the Cougars on defense, forcing 28 Clark turnovers and recording 14 steals. Senior Mia Roy (Bedford, N.H.) tallied five steals and Graff finished the game with four.

Hannah Favaloro led the Cougars with 15 points on 6-14 shooting and five rebounds. 

Clark took a 9-7 lead on a Ginny Benbow three-pointer with 5:46 left in the first quarter. But Dalia answered with a personal 6-0 run to put Bates up for good. 

With the Bobcats up by six, Kabantu knocked down a three with 44 seconds remaining to put Bates up 25-16 through one quarter.

Bates held the Cougars to just nine points in the second quarter. Up 27-21, the Bobcats went on a 9-0 run to go up by 15 on a baseline jumper from junior Jenna Berens (Durham, Conn.) with 3:18 left in the second quarter. 

The Bobcats led 38-25 at halftime and Kennedy dominated the third quarter, putting the game completely out of reach. She went on a personal 9-2 run in the middle of the quarter, extending the Bates lead to 51-29 with 4:47 remaining. 

Two more Kennedy threes put Bates up 58-34 with 3:04 left, giving her six on the game, one shy of the program record. She nearly tied the record but her three from the right wing went in and out of the hoop with 2:24 to go in the third. Kennedy was fouled on the play and made two of three free throws. Her 20 points on the day were one off her career-high 21, recorded last year against Colby.

The Bobcats led by 25 through three quarters. Kabantu scored seven of her 12 points in the fourth quarter, as Bates outscored Clark 17-8 over the final 10 minutes. 

Bates has more than a week off before the Bobcats return to action on Monday, December 13 when they visit Husson for an 8pm tip.