STANDISH, Maine -- Junior captain Meghan Graff converted an old fashioned three-point play with 30 seconds left in regulation to put the Bobcats ahead for good and the Bates women's basketball team edged Saint Joseph's College of Maine by a count of 73-72 on the road Tuesday night.

Hannah Talon converted a layup for the Monks (11-3) with 5:28 left in the game and the Bobcats (9-3) found themselves down 63-58.

Graff (South Portland, Maine) answered with a layup and sophomore Morgan Kennedy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) drilled a three, tying the score at 63 with 4:43 left. Kennedy hit another three with 4:04 on the clock, putting the Bobcats ahead. But the Monks rallied and tied the game at 67 with 2:07 to go on a pair of Grace Philippon free throws.

Kennedy split a pair of free throws and Nina Howe's layup with 47 seconds left gave the Monks a 69-68 edge.

The Bobcats called timeout to advance the ball. Then Graff used a screen from junior Brianna Gadaleta (Chappaqua, N.Y.) to get just enough space to hit a lefty runner in the paint, drawing the foul in the process. Graff sank the free throw and Bates led 71-69. Senior Mia Roy (Bedford, N.H.) got a big steal on the other end and sank two free throws to put Bates up four with 21 seconds left. 

Both teams came up empty on their next possessions and a late three from the Monks did no harm as Bates held on for the one-point win. The Bobcats are off to their best start to a season since the 2010-2011 campaign. 

The game was highly competitive throughout as neither team held a lead greater than three points until Kennedy hit a jump shot to lift the Bobcats to a 24-19 advantage with 5:38 left in the second quarter. As it played out, Kennedy's jumper was part of an 11-2 run that saw the visitors claim a game-high nine-point (30-21) cushion less than two minutes later.

Trailing by eight (38-30) with 8:43 remaining in the third period, the Monks jumped back into the fray with an 11-3 outburst over the next three minutes as a Talon layup cut the Bates lead down to 42-41. 

Monks forward Jayne Howe hit a free throw to tie the game at 49-apiece with 1:30 left in the third quarter and Bates headed into the final frame clinging to a 52-51 edge.

The Monks claimed their first lead since the opening minutes when Talon drilled a three-pointer to make it a 58-55 game with 7:04 left in regulation. Philippon padded the SJC advantage with another trifecta 24 seconds later to lift the Monks to their largest lead - six points - of the evening. 

The Bobcats countered with an 11-2 frenzy, setting up the dramatic finish.

Bates made 11 of 24 shots from beyond the arc for a 45.8% conversion rate; the Monks countered by shooting just 18.8% (3-16) from downtown. The game featured nine tie scores and 11 lead changes and neither team gained a double-digit lead.

Kennedy scored a game-high 20 points off a 5-for-11 three-point shooting performance. Graff tallied 16 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two steals. Roy scored 15 points with four boards, four steals, and three assists. Gadaleta posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Ariana Dalia (Brick, N.J.) chipped in seven points on 3-5 shooting and four rebounds.

Cassandra Stapelfeld led the Monks with 18 points and added four assists and two rebounds. Talon came off the bench to score 15 points with five rebounds in 19 minutes. Philippon chipped in with 13 points and four rebounds. Angelica Hurley added six points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Howe contributed nine points and six caroms.

The Bobcats are back in action Friday night at 7pm when they welcome No. 3 nationally ranked Amherst to town for a NESCAC contest. Currently, no spectators are allowed to attend the game but fans can watch the contest on the Northeast Sports Network.