BRUNSWICK, Maine -- Senior captain Elsa Daulerio scored a game-high 24 points, junior Sarah Hughes added 21, and first-year Claire Gaetani had the best game of her young career as the No. 2 seed Bates women's basketball team defeated No. 3 seed Amherst 80-68 Saturday afternoon in their NESCAC semifinal, advancing to the conference championship game for the third time in the past five seasons.

The Bobcats (23-3) take on top seed Bowdoin Sunday at noon looking to win the second NESCAC championship in Bates women's basketball history. 

Amherst (18-8) got off to a strong start on Saturday, going up by eight at 31-23 on an Elizabeth Cain layup with 7:42 left in the second quarter. But the Bobcats fought back, getting a layup from Daulerio (Harpswell, Maine) and a pair of free throws from Gaetani (Old Town, Maine) to cut the deficit in half. The Bobcats tied the game at 38 on a Daulerio jumper with 1:42 left until halftime. But the Mammoths ended up taking a 43-40 lead into the halftime locker room, as Anna Tranum made a layup at the buzzer. 

The Mammoths scored the first four points of the third quarter before Daulerio answered with another layup.

Then, down by six with 6:42 remaining in the third, the Bobcats really started to cook. Daulerio converted an old-fashioned three-point play and Gaetani followed with a huge three from the wing, tying the game at 48 with 6:17 on the clock. The teams traded buckets until another three-point play from the unstoppable Daulerio put the Bobcats up 53-52 with 4:02 left in the quarter.

And that was all she wrote for Amherst, as the Bobcats did not surrender the lead the rest of the way. Two Gaetani free throws followed by a Gaetani layup and a Daulerio free throw extended the advantage to 58-52. The Mammoths got to within four on a pair of Annie McCarthy free throws but Daulerio immediately answered with a jumper. 

The Bobcats led 62-56 through three quarters after outscoring Amherst 22-13 in the penultimate frame.

As she often does, Hughes (Rumson, N.J.) played the role of closer. The junior scored half of the Bobcats' 18 points in the fourth quarter. She converted a layup with 5:39 left in regulation to put Bates ahead by eight. 

With the Mammoths still within eight with three minutes to go, Hughes scored seven unanswered points to give the Bobcats their largest lead of the game at 15 with 1:19 left.

The trio of Daulerio (10-13 from the floor), Hughes (7-12) and Gaetani (career-high 17 points on 5-8 shooting) proved too much for the Mammoths. 

Daulerio finished with her second double-double of the season as she also grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. The All-America center dished out three assists and blocked four shots in her finest performance so far this season.

Hughes and Gaetani were also strong on the glass, securing eight and seven rebounds, respectively. Senior Sophie Spolter (Blacklick, Ohio) added seven points and a team-high five assists.

Cain and McCarthy led Amherst with 14 points apiece. The Bobcats held the Mammoths to 37 percent shooting. Bates shot 46 percent from the field and impressed at the free throw line, making 18-20 from the stripe.