LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates College women's basketball team scored 17 unanswered points to open the second half and the Bobcats cruised from there, defeating Colby-Bates-Bowdoin (CBB) rival Colby College, 63-43, in a New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) contest in Alumni Gym today.

Bates (14-4, 4-1 NESCAC) put four starters in double figures to take the victory, their 11th in the last 12 games against Colby. Junior forward Carla Flaherty (Gorham, Maine), coming off her season-high 21 points last night against Bowdoin dropped a game-high 19 today, including 16 in the second half when she hit six-of-nine from the floor. Senior Kate Dockery (New York, N.Y.) added 16 points and six assists. Sophomore guard Lauren Dubois (Beverly, Mass.) had 11 points and junior forward Lisa Golobski (Methuen, Mass.) added 10 points and a team-high six rebounds. The Bobcats forced 29 turnovers in improving to 3-1 in CBB play.

Colby (9-12, 3-3 NESCAC) led by as many as five points with 3:08 left in the first half on a free throw by junior Sarah Walsh (Catonsville, Md.). The Mules held a slim 27-26 lead in the first half, thanks in large part to a 26-7 rebounding advantage. Bates opened the second half with a back-door play from Dockery to Flaherty and never looked back, holding Colby to just 16 points in the second stanza on four-of-24 shooting (16.7%).

First-year center Wendy Bonner (Lexington, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds to lead Colby, while Walsh had nine points and a game-high 16 boards. The Mules drop to 0-3 in CBB contests.