View 12 photos

LEWISTON — When the Bobcats found out Monday that they were hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Division III women’s basketball tournament at Alumni Gym, it was exciting news for Elsa Daulerio and her teammates.

“The seniors, we love playing in Alumni, everybody does, so that’s just super exciting for our team and it brings a whole other level to the tournament,” said Daulerio.

That home gym atmosphere was most evident Saturday, serving as a raucous backdrop as Bates overcame a 16-point halftime deficit to beat Smith, 74-70 in overtime, in a second-round game. 

The Bobcats (26-3), ranked No. 9 in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association poll, will play second-ranked Scranton (29-0) in the third round on Friday at a site to be announced. 

“The community and everyone showing up, it was even better than yesterday,” said Bates senior Sophie Spolter. “I don’t know how it was better than yesterday, but it was. And just everyone showing up and cheering, it was great.”

Spolter finished with a team-high 20 points, just 24 hours after scoring 20 against Merchant Marine in a 71-57 victory in the first round. 

“I just came in, like I said yesterday, with the mindset of, ‘My shots are going to go in and I’m going to be aggressive,’ and my teammates got me open and everything,” Spolter said. “So just being aggressive and wanting to win. Have some senior magic a little bit, Alumni magic, community. Everything. Everything goes into it.” 

After Bates jumped out to a 10-4 lead, fourth-ranked Smith (28-2) held the Bobcats (26-3) scoreless for 8 minutes and 49 seconds, carrying into the second quarter. The Bears led by as many as 18 points and had a 39-23 advantage at halftime.

At that point, Bates appeared to be in deep trouble against a team that was the NCAA runner-up each of the previous two seasons.

“As a team, we just talked about obviously the resilience of just feeling like it’s never over until that final buzzer sounds,” Bates coach Allison Montgomery said. “And the way they stay together through that and just keep believing and being really committed to who we are and what we want to do, and they more than weathered that storm.” 

Bates shaved its deficit in the third quarter, then held Smith to just five points in the fourth. A 3-pointer by Mya Hicks with 36 seconds left in regulation capped an 8-0 run that forced overtime.

The Bobcats then opened a six-point lead in the extra session but nearly let it slip away. Smith’s Virginia Johnson completed a four-point play after being fouled on a 3-pointer, and then standout guard Hannah Martin missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer in the closing seconds. Sarah Hughes was fouled on the rebound and made both free throws to clinch the win.

“I feel like that five minutes (of overtime) really gives us a second wind,” said Hicks, a junior who made 5 of 7 3-pointers and finished with 19 points. “It just gives us its own fuel, knowing we have five more minutes to play and five more minutes to take each possession one at a time. And that just gives you a different type of energy, especially when you have a community like we do backing us.”

Spolter and Hicks were joined in double figures by Daulerio, who scored 11 points. Hughes had 13 rebounds.

“Credit to Bates,” Smith coach Lynn Hersey said. “I mean, obviously, they played a good game, kept their composure when we had a nice lead on them and just battled back. And they made big plays down the stretch, and certainly we give them a lot of credit for that and we wish them well in the next round.”