LEWISTON, Maine -- Junior captain Meghan Graff scored a game-high 21 points, junior Brianna Gadaleta added a double-double, and the Bates women's basketball team knocked off previously unbeaten No. 3 nationally ranked Amherst by a final score of 52-49 Friday night in NESCAC action at Alumni Gym. 

Bates (10-3, 2-0 NESCAC) is off to its first 2-0 start in conference play since the 2008-09 season. On December 1, the Bobcats defeated then No. 4 nationally ranked Bowdoin in a non-conference game, making this win over the Mammoths (8-1, 1-1 NESCAC) the second top-5 win of the season for the program.

Graff (South Portland, Maine) got the offense going right away in the fourth quarter with a layup, putting the Bobcats up 43-39. Bates opened up a seven-point lead with 5:56 left when Graff drilled a three from the top of the key. Courtney Resch and Reeya Patel answered though for the Mammoths and the Bobcats led by just three with 3:56 left.

More than two minutes went by without any one scoring. Then senior Ariana Dalia (Brick, N.J.) scored her only points of the game, a layup with 1:53 on the clock, putting the Bobcats up by five. Dalia finished the game with two points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

She was fouled on the bucket but missed the free throw and a Patel layup with 39 seconds left in regulation cut the Bates lead to 52-49. The Bobcats turned the ball over, giving Amherst one last chance with just over 11 seconds remaining. A Patel three came up short and the buzzer sounded, giving Bates the victory. 

The Bobcats trailed the Mammoths momentarily in the first quarter but grabbed the lead right back and never trailed again, although the game remained close throughout.

Down 6-4, Graff tied the game on a layup with 5:27 remaining in the first. Then senior Mia Roy (Bedford, N.H.) gave Bates the lead for good with a three-pointer. Gadaleta (Chappaqua, N.Y.) made two free throws and Roy hit another three-pointer, putting the Bobcats up 14-6 with 2:40 to go in the opening quarter. The Bobcats led 19-10 through one after sophomore Morgan Kennedy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) hit a step-back three from the left wing to put Bates up 19-10. 

Bates led by as many as 13 in the second quarter before the Mammoths cut the advantage to six on a Resch jumper with 1:39 remaining. Bates responded with three unanswered, including a layup by Graff, taking a 33-24 lead into the locker room.

Amherst rallied to get within four on a Dani Valdez layup with 7:29 left in the third quarter. Then the teams traded buckets the rest of the way, with Graff scoring six of the Bobcats' eight points in the quarter. An AnLing Vera layup at the horn made the score 41-39 in favor of Bates through three. 

Amherst's Vera recorded a triple-double the first time these teams met in a non-conference game on Nov. 21, which the Mammoths won by six points. This time, the Bobcats held her to six points on 3-12 shooting, four rebounds and three assists in 40 minutes. 

Graff's game-high 21 points came on 9-24 shooting. She grabbed five rebounds and dished out a game-high five assists as well. Roy finished with 12 points and Gadaleta tallied 11 points and 11 rebounds. 

Neither team shot the ball very well, with Bates finishing the game 20-73 (27.4%) from the field and Amherst finishing 23-70 (32.9%) from the floor. Bates recorded 17 second chance points to Amherst's 11. 

Valdez paced the Mammoths with 14 points on 7-19 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. She recorded four steals and blocked three shots on defense. Gabrielle Zaffiro added 11 points and Patel chipped in 10. Resch tallied eight points and pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds. She also blocked a game-high four shots.

Despite Amherst's height, Bates won the rebounding battle overall, 57-46. 

This marks the first time the Bobcats have defeated Amherst in women's basketball since the 2006-07 season. 

The Bobcats are back in action Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gym when they take on Hamilton (6-6, 0-2 NESCAC) at 3pm. Bates is capping attendance at the game to 50 spectators, all of whom must have a ticket and be from the Bates community. Bates students, faculty and staff should check their emails to find out how they can reserve their spot at the game. Fans who can't make the contest can tune in on the Northeast Sports Network.