Sophie Spolter’s layup with 10 seconds left lifted Bates College to a 55-53 upset of Southern Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament on Friday in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

The Bobcats never trailed in the first half, and led 40-33 with 3:59 left in the third before the Knights rallied and eventually tied at 42 early in the fourth quarter.

The Knights led 53-50 with 1:17 left, but Sarah Hughes nailed a 3-pointer near the one-minute mark to tie.

Hughes had 22 points and Lily Brown followed with 14 for Bates (17-9). Abigail Snyder led the Knights (26-3) with 18 points.

Bates will play Scranton in the second round at 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

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