DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- Junior
Sarah Hughes tallied her second career double-double, four Bobcats finished in double figures scoring, and the No. 12 nationally ranked Bates women's basketball team took care of business with a 74-51 win over UMass Dartmouth Saturday afternoon.
Hughes (Rumson, N.J.) scored 10 points on 4-8 shooting, grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds, and dished out a game-high four assists in the victory. Senior captain
Elsa Daulerio (Harpswell, Maine) tallied a team-high 14 points on 5-9 shooting and secured eight rebounds of her own. She also blocked four shots and chipped in three assists. Fellow senior captain
Ava James (Bethesda, Md.) drilled 4-10 from three-point range on her way to 12 points and senior
Sophie Spolter (Blacklick, Ohio) added 11 points for the Bobcats. Sophomore
Lily Lambo (Watertown, Mass.) had a strong game as well, contributing eight points and five rebounds off the bench.
The Bobcats (11-1) led from jump, never trailing on the way to their fifth straight win. Buckets from junior
Mya Hicks (Ann Arbor, Mich.), James, and Daulerio gave the visitors a 7-0 lead over the Corsairs (4-7) with 6:17 left in the first quarter. UMass Dartmouth cut the lead to 11-10 on an Elizabeth Gresian three-pointer with 3:37 left in the first before Lambo hit a pair of free throws to give Bates a three-point advantage entering the second quarter.
The Bates offense came alive in the second quarter, tallying 27 points. James hit back-to-back three-pointers to start the second, opening up a nine-point lead at 19-10.
With the score at 21-15, sophomore
Lily Brown (Dallas, Texas) drilled a three with seven minutes remaining until halftime. That started an 11-0 run, with James and Hughes also making three-pointers before a Spolter layup with 5:34 remaining extended the lead to 32-15.
Bates took a 40-25 lead into halftime and led by double digits the rest of the way.
The Bobcats dominated in a number of statistical categories, starting in the turnover column. UMass Dartmouth turned the ball over 24 times to just 14 turnovers for Bates. The Bobcats took advantage, scoring 25 points off turnovers to 14 points off turnovers for the hosts. Bates also had 15 second chance points to just four for the Corsairs. Shooting was fairly even, with the Bobcats shooting 39.1 percent from the floor to 34 percent for UMass Dartmouth.
Bates women's basketball opens NESCAC play this Friday at 7 p.m. when the Bobcats host No. 15 nationally ranked Amherst at Alumni Gym.