NEW LONDON, N.H. – January 9, 2018 – The Colby-Sawyer women's basketball team led from the opening tip and defeated Bates College, 65-55, at the David L. Coffin Field House Tuesday evening.

Tonight's meeting was the first between the two teams since the 1995-96 season.

Colby-Sawyer improves to 8-3 and will head to Maine this weekend for a pair of important North Atlantic Conference (NAC) games at Husson and Maine Maritime. Bates falls to 5-10 and will resume New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action at home on Friday against Middlebury.

In a battle of starting 5s, Colby-Sawyer outscored Bates 60-53. The Chargers received five points from their bench, while the Bobcats got two.

Colby-Sawyer senior Emmani Robinson (Newburgh, N.Y.) poured in a career-high 23 points on 11-of-14 shooting to lead all players. Sophomore Tianna Sugars (Oxford, Maine) notched her fifth double-double of the season and third straight with 14 points and a game best 15 rebounds. Sophomore Lexie Hamilton (Sunapee, N.H.) added 10 points and eight assists, while senior Amanda Calvo (South Deerfield, Mass.) contributed 10 points and three blocks.

Bates was led by sophomore Melanie Binkhorst (West Hartford, Conn.). She scored 19 points on 8-of-14 and added a game-high four steals. Senior Emily Freeland (Marblehead, Mass.) scored 17 points for the Bobcats. Senior Nina Davenport (Freeport, Maine) came away with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Colby-Sawyer began the contest with three buckets by three different players to take a 6-0 lead three minutes into the first quarter. After a Davenport layup got the visitors on the board, the Chargers went in front 9-2 with a Robinson free throw and a jumper by Calvo. With 2:59 left in the frame, Binkhorst brought Bates to within four after a layup, 13-9, but Colby-Sawyer finished with a 7-1 run capped by a trey from freshman Mackenzie Buzzell (Lovell, Maine) to take a 20-10 lead after one.
 
The home team added to its lead in the second after an Alli Barrett (Kittery, Maine) trey put Colby-Sawyer ahead 32-15 at the 6:14 mark. The Chargers held a double-digit lead throughout the second thanks to 50% shooting from the floor and led 38-23 at the break.
 
Bates shot the ball better than the Chargers in the third quarter, but each team made five baskets. The Bobcats made a three-pointer and two more free throws than Colby-Sawyer to win the quarter 15-12. The Chargers still held a 50-38 advantage after three.
 
The Bobcats also won the fourth quarter but only by a two-point margin, giving the Chargers the 65-55 victory. A Davenport layup in the opening seconds of the fourth brought Bates to within 10 and later the Bobcats cut the deficit to nine, 56-47, with a Taylor McVeigh (Hanson, Mass.) layup midway through the stanza. Colby-Sawyer did not let Bates get any closer as the lead was pushed back to 15 with less than two minutes to play.
 
The Chargers outscored Bates 42-20 in the paint and used 13 offensive rebounds to hold a 16-3 advantage in second chance points. 

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