BROOKLYN, N.Y. -- New York University used a big second quarter to pull away from the Bates women's basketball team as the Bobcats fell to the host No. 7 nationally ranked Violets 76-54 in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament on Saturday. 

The Bobcats (18-8) wrap up the 2021-22 campaign with the program's best winning percentage (.692) since the 2004-05 season.

Sophomore Morgan Kennedy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) led the way for Bates on Saturday, tallying 14 points on 6-11 shooting. Junior captain Meghan Graff (South Portland, Maine) added 13 points and senior captain Taylor McVeigh (Hanson, Mass.) tallied a season-high 10 points on 3-5 shooting to go along with seven rebounds.

Five different Violets (24-1) finished in double figures, led by 14 points and 12 rebounds from Natalie Bruns. Bruns and Jenny Walker blocked six shots apiece, making life difficult in the low block for the Bobcats. NYU held a 48-22 advantage in points in the paint. 

Bates kept the game close in the first quarter, tying the contest at 18 on a Graff three with 2:02 remaining. Walker and Brooklyn Shelton answered with layups, giving the Violets a 22-18 edge after one.

The Bobcats were still within five with just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter. But NYU went on a 13-2 run to end the half, taking a 42-26 lead at the intermission. 

NYU kept the Bobcats at bay the rest of the game, as Bates did not get to within closer than 13 points in the second half.

Senior Sarah Bennett (Suffield, Conn.), who has battled injuries throughout her career, got a chance to play late in the contest, knocking down a three from the top of the key. 

This marked the final games at Bates for seniors Bennett, Ariana Dalia (Brick, N.J.), McVeigh, Mia Roy (Bedford, N.H.), and Amaari Williams (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who could not play due to injury. Dalia finished the game with a team-high eight rebounds while Roy tallied six points and six boards. Both Dalia and Roy etched their names in the Bates history books with their performances in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday, with Dalia scoring a career-high 27 and Roy hitting the game-tying three at the buzzer to force overtime against Roger Williams.

This senior class goes down as the first to lead Bates women's basketball to a NESCAC title, with the Bobcats defeating Middlebury, Trinity and Amherst in the conference tournament to become only the fourth team in history to take home the NESCAC women's basketball championship. 

This season marks the seventh time Bates women's basketball has qualified for the NCAA tournament and the fourth time the Bobcats have advanced past the first round.