The Bates College Bobcats defended their home court with a 71-59 NESCAC win against the Hamilton College Continentals at Alumni Gym on Saturday afternoon.
 
Hamilton dropped to 6-7 overall and 0-3 in the conference. The Continentals host SUNY Polytechnic for a non-conference game on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m.
 
Bates improved to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in the NESCAC with its fourth straight win. The Bobcats received votes in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.
 
Kelcie Zarle '22 paced Hamilton with 23 points and four assists. Zarle is second in the conference with 19.9 points per game. Emma Sehring '23 posted her first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Emma's sister Claire Sehring '22 contributed 10 points and two blocked shots. Emily Hall '24 handed out four assists and has 12 in her last three games.
 
Mia Roy led the way for the Bobcats with 25 points as she was 5 of 8 from 3-point range. Meghan Graff registered 17 points and four assists and Morgan Kennedy chipped in 11 points. Brianna Gadaleta recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards.
 
The game was close until Bates opened up its lead late in the second quarter, and neither team led by more than four the first 17 minutes. The Continentals took their last lead at 21-20 on a jumper by Zarle with 6:08 left in the second quarter. The Bobcats ended the half with a 15-5 run that was capped by a mid-range jumper by Meghan Graff for a 35-26 advantage.
 
Hamilton didn't get closer than seven points in the second half, and Bates took its largest lead of 16 points at 69-53 late in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats finished with a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points.