LEWISTON, Maine -- Senior captain Meghan Graff scored a game-high 20 points and the Bates women's basketball team led wire-to-wire, defeating Wesleyan 54-46 Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at Alumni Gymnasium. 

Prior to the contest, the Bobcats (13-10, 5-5 NESCAC) honored their senior class of Graff (South Portland, Maine), Jenna Berens (Durham, Conn.), Kayla Bridgeman (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and Graff's co-captain Brianna Gadaleta (Chappaqua, N,Y.), who is out for the season due to injury. 

In addition to her 20 points, Graff also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and dished out a game-high four assists. Bridgeman tallied five points and three rebounds while Berens added a bucket and three boards. 

Junior Morgan Kennedy (Oklahoma City, Okla.) joined Graff in double figures with 10 points, four rebounds, and four blocked shots. First-year Elsa Daulerio (Harpswell, Maine) added nine points, seven rebounds, and a career-high five blocked shots. The Bobcats blocked a season-high 12 shots as a team.

Brooke Guiffre paced the Cardinals (10-14, 3-7 NESCAC) with 11 points on 3-10 shooting. Tori DaCosta added six points, a game-high 13 rebounds, and two blocked shots.

The Bobcats got off to a tremendous start, scoring the first 11 points of the game. A Bridgeman jumper in the paint with 9:14 left in the first quarter opened the scoring and a Kennedy three extended the lead to 11-0 with 5:12 remaining. 

Bates outscored the Cardinals 21-11 in the first quarter and followed that up by tallying 15 points to Wesleyan's 10 in the second quarter, taking a 36-21 lead into halftime. 

Wesleyan clamped down on defense in the second half, holding Bates to 18 points. But the halftime advantage held up for the hosts, despite the Cardinals cutting the lead to four two times during the fourth quarter. A Guiffre three with 3:54 left in regulation made the score 47-43 in favor of Bates. But Graff answered right away with a layup. Then she split a pair of free throws to put the Bobcats up seven. Another Guiffre three made the score 50-46 with 2:54 remaining. 

The Bobcats were able to hold the Cardinals scoreless over the final 2:54, securing the victory with four made free throws down the stretch, including two by Graff. 

Bates dominated in the paint, tallying 28 points to Wesleyan's 10. The Bobcats also won the turnover battle, recording 12 points off turnovers to Wesleyan's four. Bates held Wesleyan to 21.1 percent shooting from the floor.

The Bobcats are back in action this Tuesday at 6pm when they host New England College in the regular season finale.