MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- The No. 12 nationally ranked Bates women's basketball team clamped down on defense and defeated Emmanuel College 49-42 Friday evening at the Cruzin Classic.

The Bobcats (8-1) held the Saints (6-4) to just 29.8 percent shooting from the floor. Crucially, Bates shut down their opponents from Massachusetts in the fourth quarter, as Emmanuel shot just 1-15 from the field down the stretch. 

Junior Mya Hicks (Ann Arbor, Mich.) led all scorers with 11 points and also tallied a career-high six steals. The Bobcats notched 16 steals as a team, their most in one game since 2022. Junior Sarah Hughes (Rumson, N.J.) turned in an efficient performance with nine points, six rebounds, a game-high three assists, and two steals. Senior captain Elsa Daulerio (Harpswell, Maine) added six points and a game-high 10 rebounds. She and Hicks both blocked two shots.

The Bobcats found themselves down 30-23 with 5:52 left in the third quarter after a Megan Reilly layup for the Saints. But they went on a quick 5-0 run to cut the deficit to two on a layup from sophomore Lily Lambo (Watertown, Mass.) and a three-pointer from Hicks. 

A Shea Canavan three-pointer with 1:36 left in the third put the Saints up 37-32. Hughes and Daulerio answered with buckets of their own to cut the deficit to one heading into the fourth quarter.

Just 16 seconds into the fourth quarter, Hicks put the Bobcats ahead for good with a jumper on an assist from Daulerio. Hughes drained a three-pointer to extend the lead to four before Reilly tallied the only made field goal of the quarter for the Saints, making a layup with 7:09 remaining in regulation to trim the Bates lead to 41-39.

Hicks responded with a layup of her own and the Bobcats made six free throws down the stretch to ice the game.

Bates held Emmanuel to just five points in both the second and fourth quarters on Friday. The strong defensive effort was needed, as the Bobcats shot just 25.4 percent from the floor. It's their lowest shooting percentage in a win in Alison Montgomery's tenure as head coach. Bates was excellent from the free throw line, making 13-16 from the stripe. 

The game featured four ties and 11 lead changes. Neither team led by more than seven points in the contest. The 49 points scored by the Bobcats on Friday is the fewest Bates women's basketball has scored in a win since 1982.

Bates returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 30 when the Bobcats take on Rogers Williams in Worcester, Mass. at the WPI Invitational. Tip is set for 6 p.m.