BOSTON -- Three Bobcats scored in double figures and the Bates women's basketball team won the opener of the 39th annual EC Tip-Off Classic by a count of 74-59 over Brooklyn College Saturday afternoon.

Senior captain Meghan Graff (South Portland, Maine) paced the Bobcats (1-1) with a game-high 23 points and junior Delaney Nwachukwu (Avon, Conn.) added a career-high 13 points on 6-10 shooting and seven rebounds. First-year Elsa Daulerio (Harpswell, Maine) had a breakout performance in her second collegiate game, tallying 12 points on 5-5 shooting to go along with seven boards.

A pair of Bobcats finished in double figures in the rebounding category. Senior Jenna Berens (Durham, Conn.) pulled down 10 rebounds and blocked a pair of shots. Senior Kayla Bridgeman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) also tallied 10 rebounds and added seven points on 2-3 shooting and three assists. 

Bates dominated with 50 points in the paint to Brooklyn's 20. The Bobcats out-rebounded the Bulldogs (1-2) by a count of 62-37. 

With the score tied at two, Graff converted a layup with 8:09 left in the first quarter, putting Bates ahead for good. A 7-0 run made the score 9-2 in favor of Bates before Nancy Pham hit a three for the Bulldogs to trim the edge to 9-5. But the Bobcats answered with another 7-0 run, going up 16-5 on a Nwachukwu layup with 3:57 left in the first quarter.

Bates led by nine through one quarter at 24-15. The teams played to a 21-21 stalemate in the second quarter, with the Bulldogs cutting the Bates lead to six on a three-point play from Aleah Rafat with 5:51 left until halftime 

The Bobcats answered right away as sophomore Alexandra Long (Newtown, Pa.) hit a jumper and Graff converted a fast-break layup to extend the lead back to 10 at 36-26. 

Brooklyn got no closer than eight points the rest of the way. Leading by nine at halftime, the Bobcats put the clamps down on defense in the third quarter, holding the Bulldogs to just eight points.

Gianna Gotti paced the Bulldogs on the day with 21 points on 7-24 shooting. The Bobcats held Brooklyn to just 27.1 percent from the field. Bates won by 15 points despite shooting just 1-18 from three-point range. The Bobcats shot 42.6% from the field overall.

Bates is back in action at the EC Tip-Off Classic Sunday at 12pm when the Bobcats take on Medgar Evers College.