LEWISTON, Maine -- The No. 12 nationally ranked Bates women's basketball team pulled off a comeback for the history books, rallying from 18 points down to defeat No. 6 Smith 74-70 in overtime in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament Saturday night at a packed Alumni Gymnasium. 

With the victory, the Bobcats (26-3) break the program record for wins in one season and advance to take on Scranton on the road in the Sweet 16 this Friday, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.

Senior Sophie Spolter (Blacklick, Ohio) tallied a game-high 20 points on 7-12 shooting and junior Mya Hicks (Ann Arbor, Mich.) poured in a career-high 19 points on 6-10 shooting, knocking down a career-high five three-pointers in seven attempts along the way. 

In the game of her life, Hicks came up large when it mattered the most. With Bates trailing 60-57, Spolter secured a rebound of a Virginia Johnson miss and Bates called a timeout with 46 seconds left in regulation. Out of the timeout, sophomore Lily Lambo (Watertown, Mass.) found Hicks just to the right of the top of the key. The junior set her feet and drilled a deep three to tie the game at 60 with 36 seconds remaining. Johnson missed a three on the other end and Bates couldn't convert a go-ahead score on their next possession, so the game went to overtime. 

The Bobcats were down 64-63 in overtime before Lambo tallied an old-fashioned three-point play on a drive to the hoop, putting Bates up 66-64 with 3:11 to go. They did not surrender that lead, although it got nerve-wracking in the end for the home fans. A Spolter free throw put the Bobcats ahead 72-66 with just 29 seconds on the clock. But Johnson was able to convert a four-point play on the other end to cut the lead to two with 19 seconds remaining.

Bates called timeout but they could not inbound the ball, resulting in a five-second call and giving Smith a chance to tie or win the game. Fortunately, Hannah Martin missed a three-pointer and junior Sarah Hughes (Rumson, N.J.) grabbed her team-high 13th rebound of the game, securing the win for Bates. Hughes hit two free throws on the other end with 0.4 seconds to go, providing the final margin of victory.

It was an incredible comeback. The Bobcats had rallied from 20 points down at halftime to beat Hamilton in the NESCAC quarterfinal this season. But the Bears (28-2), ranked No. 4 in the WBCA Coaches Poll and No. 6 in the D3hoops.com top 25, provided another level of adversity. Entering the game, Smith had made back-to-back national championship games and three straight Final Fours.

Bates was down 30-12 with 5:28 left in the second quarter after Smith's Selam Maher hit a three-pointer. That three was preceded by a remarkable 23-0 run by the Bears. The Bobcats had led 10-4 with 4:37 left in the first quarter thanks to a Spolter jumper. But the Bears completely shut the Bobcats down and only a layup from senior captain Elsa Daulerio (Harpswell, Maine) with 5:48 left in the second quarter ended the temporary misery for the hosts. 

Down 39-23 at halftime, the Bobcats started to chip away in the third quarter. Daulerio and Spolter got the second half started on the right foot with back-to-back jumpers and Bates even cut the deficit to seven with 7:32 to go in the third on a Hicks layup. But the Bears responded with vigor. A 7-0 Smith run culminated with an old-fashioned three-point play from Kate Hackney with 5:05 remaining, putting Smith up 14. They even extended the lead back to 16 points on a Martin three-pointer with 3:55 to go in the quarter. 

The Bobcats fought back and got to within 10 on a layup from senior captain Ava James (Bethesda, Md.) before Johnson hit a jumper to put Smith up 55-43 through three quarters.

But the fourth quarter proved to be Smith's undoing. Bates held the best shooting team in NCAA Division III to just 2-13 from the floor as Smith managed just five points over the final 10 minutes of regulation. With the score 58-45 in favor of the visitors, Bates went on a 7-0 run that culminated with a Lambo fastbreak layup, trimming the deficit to 58-52. Hackney answered on the other end, but that was the last time Smith scored in the quarter as Bates shutout the Bears for the final 5:25 of regulation.

Spolter went on a personal 4-0 run to get Bates to within four. Then Daulerio split a pair of free throws with 1:58 left, setting Hicks up for the eventual game-tying three.

Daulerio joined Spolter and Hicks in double figures scoring with 11 points, five rebounds, and a game-high five assists. Lambo chipped in seven points on 3-5 shooting, six rebounds, two assists, and two crucial steals.

Martin paced the Bears with 19 points but finished just 8-22 from the field. Johnson recorded a double-double with 13 points on 5-10 shooting and 13 rebounds. Mya Williams joined them in double figures with 11 points and nine rebounds. Hackney eventually fouled out but was effective when in the game, scoring nine points on 4-7 shooting.

This marks the fourth time in program history Bates women's basketball has made the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA tournament and the second time in the past three years. The Bobcats have never made the NCAA quarterfinals, something they can achieve with a win over Scranton next weekend.