 |
| Nina Davenport scored her 1,000th career point as the Bates women's basketball team defeated UMaine-Augusta 67-58 in its home opener on Dec. 1, 2017. (Theophil Syslo/Bates College) |
Bates (2-4) won despite shooting 30.5 percent from the field in the game, while UMA (5-2) knocked down 38.8% of its shots. Davenport (Freeport, Maine) shot 10-of-32 and 3-of-14 from beyond the arc, both career-high shot totals. The Bobcats had a big advantage in turnovers, committing eight to the visiting Moose's 25, leading to a 28-7 difference in points off turnovers.
Davenport also recorded six rebounds and a game- and career-high six steals in the game. Carly
Christofi (12 points), Melanie Binkhorst (11) and Lyse Henshaw (10) all scored in double figures for the Bobcats. Senior Lexie Nason (Boxford, Mass.) posted career-highs with 12 rebounds and five assists.
Caitlin LaFountain led the Moose with 23 points to go with nine rebounds. LaFountain fouled out of the game with 3:10 left in the fourth quarter and Bates holding a 56-55 lead. The Bobcats outscored the Moose 11-3 down the stretch after her exit.
Kate Stevens grabbed 21 rebounds for UMA to go with seven points and four blocked shots. Dominique Lewis contributed 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Carmen Bragg led UMA with five assists.
Davenport entered the game needing three points to become the 20th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. She made a layup to get to 999 early in the first quarter, then swished a 3-pointer from the right wing with 3:58 left in the quarter to pass the career milestone on her 145th career three.
Bates took a 17-13 lead after one quarter, but the lead changed hands seven times in the second quarter. A pair of free throws by Bragg put the Moose on top 32-30 with 1:50 to go in the half, and LaFountain hit a pair for a four-point lead. Davenport canned a three with 33 seconds to go in the half, but Bragg knocked down two more free throws for a 36-33 UMA lead at the half.
UMA led 38-35 early in the third quarter before Binkhorst and senior Emily Freedland (Marblehead, Mass.) made back-to-back threes, giving Bates a 41-38 lead, and the Bobcats never trailed again. UMA closed the gap to 45-42 before the end of the quarter with consecutive hoops by Kylie Kemp and LaFountain.
LaFountain opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a three-point play to pull the Moose into a 45-45 tie. Christofi then drove for a layup and followed a UMA turnover with another layup for a 49-45 Bates lead, and a Davenport layup from Middlebook made it a six-point game with 7:50 to go.
LaFountain responded soon after with another three-point play, assisted by Lewis, and Lewis then answered a Christofi layup with a deep three assisted by Bragg to close the gap to 55-53. After a Davenport free throw, Lewis found LaFountain open again for a layup to make it a one-point game (56-55) with 3:25 left in regulation. But LaFountain was whistled for a reach-in foul 15 seconds later.
Bates capitalized with a game-ending 11-3 run. Nason assisted Davenport on a three-point play for a 59-55 lead with 2:27 to go. Lewis countered with a deep three to close the gap to 59-58 with 1:37 to go. After a scoreless Bates possession, Middlebrook made perhaps the play of the game, stealing the ball away from Bragg and feeding Binkhorst for a fast-break layup with 44 seconds left, for a 61-58 lead. Binkhorst was fouled and missed the free throw, but Davenport corralled the rebound and then hit a layup for a 63-58 lead with 42 seconds left to play. Christofi and Binkhorst both made pairs of free throws to seal vicotgry in the final 26 seconds.
Davenport reached 1,000 points in her 67th game. She averages 23.3 points per game this season and 15.3 in her career. By game's end, she passed three fellow members of the 1,000-point club and now ranks 17th in team history with 1,022 points.
Bates will host Colby on Tuesday at 6pm in the rivals' annual non-conference game.
No comments:
Post a Comment