AMHERST, Mass. -- The Bates women's basketball team's rally fell just short in a 52-48 road loss to No. 21 nationally ranked Amherst Saturday afternoon in NESCAC action. 

The Bobcats (7-7, 1-2 NESCAC) never led in the contest, but the game stood tied at four after a layup from senior captain Meghan Graff (South Portland, Maine) with 7:55 left in the first quarter. 

Then the Mammoths (12-4, 2-2 NESCAC) went on a 10-0 run to end the quarter, holding Bates to 1-20 shooting, and grabbing a 14-4 lead. 

Bates won each of the final three quarters but could not completely dig out of the early hole. The Mammoths led by as many as 13 when AnLing Vera recorded a fast break layup to put Amherst up 22-9 with 6:35 remaining in the second quarter.

The Bobcats were able to cut the deficit to nine at 31-22 by halftime thanks in part to a pair of key three-pointers from junior Morgan Kennedy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) in the second quarter. 

A Vera three with 57 seconds left in the third quarter put Amherst up 10, but Graff answered with a layup to trim the deficit to eight at 38-30 entering the fourth quarter of action.

Down by 10 with 7:22 left in regulation, the Bobcats finally made a big move. Graff got things going with a jumper, then first-year Elsa Daulerio (Harpswell, Maine) followed with a layup, cutting the deficit to 42-36 with 5:28 remaining.

Back-to-back jumpers from Graff cut the Amherst lead all the way down to two with 3:36 to go. The Mammoths pushed the lead back to five before a Daulerio layup trimmed the deficit to 47-44 with 2:16 on the clock.

Then first-year Sophie Spolter (Blacklick, Ohio) made a layup and Bates pulled to within one at 47-46. But the Bobcats could not get the go-ahead bucket despite a couple of chances down the stretch. The Mammoths made their free throws and held on for a four-point win over Bates in a rematch of the 2022 NESCAC Championship game. 

Graff tallied a game-high 18 points on 7-18 shooting, moving up to third on the program's all-time career scoring list. Kennedy and Spolter added 10 points apiece for Bates. Senior Jenna Berens (Durham, Conn.) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

Vera and Kori Barach paced Amherst with 14 points each. 

The Bobcats are back in action Tuesday when they visit the University of Maine-Farmington for a 7pm tip.