Bates women top Trinity of Texas in Naismith Classic championship
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| Meg Coffin ’07 had game highs of 15 rebounds and eight steals to go with 13 points, and was named to the all-tournament team. |
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Bates College women’s basketball team emerged from a back-and-forth contest against Trinity University of Texas as 76-71 winners in the championship game of the Holiday Inn-Naismith Classic at Springfield College on Monday.
First-year guard Jackie Powers led the Bobcats (6-5) with 18 points, and her 3-pointer with 2:54 to play in overtime gave them a 69-64 cushion. Powers earned tournament MVP honors after averaging 18.5 points over the two games.
Junior Meg Coffin (Westford, Mass.) added 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds and eight steals. Coffin’s steal and pair of free throws gave Bates the early 66-64 lead in overtime, in which the Bobcats never trailed. Coffin was named to the all-tournament team along with Powers.
Sophomore Sarah Barton (Portsmouth, N.H.) contributed 14 points and four assists, sophomore Matia Kostakis (Andover, Mass.) added 10 points and nine rebounds, and senior Annie Whiting (Contoocook, N.H.) added nine points and 10 rebounds.
Krista Matthews and Jennifer Weiman both came off the bench to give the Tigers (8-2) 15 points apiece, with Matthews adding 12 rebounds. Martha King and Beth Hannon each added 12 points. The loss snapped Trinity’s eight-game winning streak.
Bates never trailed throughout the first half, leading by as many as 14 points on two occasions. But the Tigers outscored the Bobcats 22-8 over the final 10 minutes of the period to tie the game at 32 at the half.
The Tigers, conversely, led for nearly the whole second half, building then losing a 7-point lead, then retaking a 6-point lead (56-50) with 7:07 to play. A Whiting layup tied the game at 62 with 2:50 to play, and free throws by Coffin and Barton made it 64-62 in Bates’ favor, but Kate Dawson’s jumper with 10 seconds left in regulation sent the game into overtime.
Bates shot 7-for-7 from the free-throw line in overtime, while Trinity was only 0-for-1. For the game, Bates (24-for-34) held a sizable advantage from the line over Trinity (5-15).
Bates shot only 33.8 percent from the field, turned the ball over 26 times and was outrebounded 56-48, but Trinity committed 31 turnovers while shooting at a 42.5 percent clip.
BATES COLLEGE 76, TRINITY (TEXAS) 71
TRINITY (TEXAS) (8-2)
Jennifer Wieman 7-11 0-0 15; Krista P. Matthews 7-11 1-2 15; Martha King 5-13 2-4 12; Beth Hannon 5-6 0-0 12; Jennifer Farrar 2-11 1-3 6; Leda McDaniel 2-6 0-1 4; Kate Dawson 2-7 0-0 4; Meghan Scholbe 1-7 1-4 3; Madi Goff 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 31-73 5-15 71.
BATES COLLEGE (6-5)
Jackie Powers 5-14 6-10 18; Sarah Barton 2-9 9-10 14; Meg Coffin 4-15 5-8 13; Matia Kostakis 5-13 0-0 10; Annie Whiting 4-7 1-2 9; Becca Buckler 2-5 0-0 4; Maggie Fitzgerald 1-4 0-0 3; Val Beckwith 0-1 3-4 3; Kyla Decato 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 24-71 24-34 76.
Trinity (Texas)…………… 32 32 7 - 71
Bates College…………….. 32 32 12 - 76
3-point goals-Trinity (Texas) 4-8 (Beth Hannon 2-2; Jennifer Farrar 1-3; Jennifer Wieman 1-1; Meghan Scholbe 0-1; Madi Goff 0-1), Bates College 4-9 (Jackie Powers 2-3; Maggie Fitzgerald 1-2; Sarah Barton 1-4). Fouled out–Trinity (Texas)-None, Bates College-Matia Kostakis. Rebounds-Trinity (Texas) 56 (Krista P. Matthews 12), Bates College 48 (Meg Coffin 15). Assists-Trinity (Texas) 18 (Leda McDaniel 7), Bates College 10 (Sarah Barton 4). Total fouls-Trinity (Texas) 24, Bates College 18. A-420.
Holiday Inn-Naismith Classic Women’s Championship Game