Bates (19-9) had a 69-62 lead with 2:27 left in overtime, but a three by Marsha Kinder (28 points) from the right corner was followed by a Scales (11 points) three from the left corner. Scales then poked away a Sarah Barton inbounds pass, got the ball back from Katy Herr (11 points) and swished the game-winning three from the left wing with 16 seconds left to play.

A three-point attempt by Matia Kostakis rimmed out as the final buzzer sounded on the Bobcats’ season.

Kostakis led Bates with 22 points, while Meg Coffin scored 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed 17 rebounds. Barton added 12 assists and nine rebounds.

The Eagles (23-6), despite operating with a height disadvantage at most positions, grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, helping lead to 80 field goal attempts, 38 of which were 3-pointers. Bridgewater shot 31.3 percent from the floor, compared to Bates’ 50.0 percent, but the Eagles knocked down 14 of 38 three-point attempts (36.8%) while Bates hit only 4-of-17 (23.5%).

Bates converted five of 11 free throws, while Bridgewater went 7-for-7.

Herr, a 5-4 guard, led Bridgewater with 11 boards, including five off the offensive glass, while also dishing out nine assists.

Bates started out the game with eight unanswered points, six of them coming from Kostakis. Bridgewater got on the scoreboard on a 3-pointer by Amy Childs nearly five minutes into the game.

But Kinder, the Eagles’ only senior, suddenly got hot, canning three threes in a minute and a half to draw Bridgewater within one at 13-12.

The teams played evenly for most of the remainder of the half, but Coffin’s baseline jumper, followed by her hoop underneath off a Barton feed, put the Bobcats up 30-24 with 2:29 left to play. Herr, however, answered with a pair of deep 3-pointers to tie the game at 30 at intermission.

Kinder, who was 9-for-28 from the field in the game, including 6-of-18 behind the arc, drained a three early in the second half to put Bridgewater up 35-32. Bates bounced back with a pullup jumper by Barton, followed by Coffin hustling for a steal at midcourt and racing in for an uncontested layup. Senior Annie Whiting hit a baseline jumper to make it 38-35 Bates, and Bridgewater called a timeout.

The resilient Eagles weren’t about to fade away, though. A floater by Scales and pairs of free throws by Rebecca Henderson and Kinder retied the game at 41.

Then the Eagles’ success on the offensive glass was underscored on their next two possessions. The Eagles took, missed and rebounded their own shot four times before Coffin was whistled for a foul on Kinder. Coming less than a minute after her third foul, Coffin was suddenly one foul away from disqualification, and Kinder’s free throws put Bridgewater ahead again, 43-41. On their next trip down, the Eagles gathered two offensive boards before Tori Ruckman hit a layup.

Kostakis and Herr traded 3-pointers as the Eagles sustained a 51-48 lead, and after Kyla Decato hit Val Beckwith for a 15-foot jumper to close it to 51-50, Kinder got hot again. The 24-year-old guard hit an off-balance jumper to make it 53-50, then ducked under defender Annie Whiting to hit an 18-foot runner that just beat the shot clock.

But Bates’ Maggie Fitzgerald picked a great time to hit her second 3-pointer of the game off a Barton inbound pass, and Barton nailed a three off of a Kostakis offensive board as the Bobcats took another lead, 56-55, with 4:23 left in regulation.

Kinder answered again with a three on the right wing, but Whiting canned a long jumper from the left wing to tie the game at 58.

Childs found Henderson alone underneath to put Bridgewater ahead, but Barton found Kostakis unguarded out of a broken play to retie it at 60 with 1:58 left.

Childs again found Henderson alone underneath, but Coffin answered with a post-up hoop with 43 seconds left, tying it at 62.

Kinder looked hard for her own shot as the seconds clicked away, and Whiting and Coffin collapsed on her. Coffin got a hand on Kinder’s leaner, giving Bates the ball with 17 seconds left.

After Bates’ timeout, Bridgewater put heavy pressure on the ball, and the 6-2 Henderson bumped Barton near halfcourt as the Bates guard lost possession to Kinder. Kinder raced up the floor but her shot caromed wildly off the glass, and Kostakis came up with the rebound, setting up a Coffin off-the-mark desperation shot before the buzzer signalled the end of regulation.

Bates raced out in front to start the overtime period, with Barton hitting Powers in stride for a fast-break layup right out of the tipoff. Whiting nailed a jumper, and Powers fed Coffin alone underneath for a 68-62 lead, prompting an Eagles timeout with 2:53 left. Barton came up with her third steal of the game and fed Powers on the breakaway. Powers was fouled and hit one foul shot to put the Bobcats ahead 69-62.

Then began Bridgewater’s improbable late-game 9-0 run.

BRIDGEWATER COLLEGE 71, BATES COLLEGE 69
BRIDGEWATER COLLEGE
KINDER, Marsha 9-28 4-4 28; Scales, Shannon 4-8 0-0 11; HERR, Katy 4-15 0-0 11; Henderson, Rebecca 2-5 2-2 6; Ruckman, Tori 2-4 0-0 5; SAUNDERS, Jennifer 2-6 1-1 5; CHILDS, Amy 2-12 0-0 5; TIMBERLAKE, Jessica 0-1 0-0 0; Young, Jessica 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-80 7-7 71.
BATES COLLEGE
Matia Kostakis 10-20 1-2 22; Meg Coffin 8-11 0-2 16; Jackie Powers 3-12 4-6 10; Maggie Fitzgerald 2-3 0-0 6; Annie Whiting 3-5 0-0 6; Sarah Barton 2-2 0-1 5; Katie Franklin 1-2 0-0 2; Val Beckwith 1-4 0-0 2; Kyla Decato 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-60 5-11 69.
Bridgewater College………..   30   32    9  -   71
Bates College……………..   30   32    7  -   69
3-point goals-Bridgewater College 14-38 (KINDER, Marsha 6-18; HERR, Katy 3-9; Scales, Shannon 3-6; Ruckman, Tori 1-1; CHILDS, Amy 1-3; SAUNDERS, Jennifer 0-1), Bates College 4-17 (Maggie Fitzgerald 2-3; Sarah Barton 1-1; Matia Kostakis 1-7; Annie Whiting 0-1; Jackie Powers 0-5). Fouled out–Bridgewater College-None, Bates College-None. Rebounds-Bridgewater College 39 (HERR, Katy 11), Bates College 46 (Meg Coffin 17). Assists-Bridgewater College 15 (HERR, Katy 9), Bates College 22 (Sarah Barton 12). Total fouls-Bridgewater College 13, Bates College 10. A-683

The Bates College men’s tennis team has earned its second straight berth in the NCAA Division III tournament. As the sixth seed in the East region. the Bobcats (9-3) will take on New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) rival Trinity (Conn.) College (13-4), the third seed, at MIT in Cambridge, Mass., at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 12.

Bates will be making its third-ever appearance in the NCAA tournament. The Bobcats placed third at the NESCAC championships at Williams College April 27-29. Bates head coach Paul Gastonguay ’89 was named NESCAC Coach of the Year for his effort, which came despite losing three players from the Bobcats’ second-place team of 2000.

The Bobcats are led by a pair of players ranked among the top 10 in the East. Bates’ No. 1 player, sophomore Alex MacDonald of Bridgewater, Conn., was seventh in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association East Region rankings, while senior Greg Norton of Mansfield, Mass., the Bobcats’ No. 2 player, was ranked eighth. Bates’ top performer overall this season has been No. 5, junior Ben Lamanna of Barrington, R.I., who boasts a 14-1 record this season, with his only loss coming in the finals of his flight at the NESCAC championships.
Trinity is paced by NESCAC Player of the Year Rosty Orach, at No. 1, and conference Rookie of the Year Richard Lawrence at No. 2. The two teams met during the regular season on April 22. The Bantams claimed a 4-3 decision after Bates won the doubles point. Lamanna and sophomore Brett Carty of Belle Meade, N.J., both won at No. 5 and No. 6 singles, but Norton could not hang on to defeat Lawrence in the third set of the deciding match at No. 2, 6-3, 3-6, 2-6.

The winner of the Bates-Trinity match will face the winner of the match between No. 2 MIT and No. 7 Rochester on May 13. The winner of the regional advances to Depauw (Ind.) College May 19-21.

The complete NCAA Division III men’s tennis tournament bracket is available via the World Wide Web at http://www.ncaachampionships.com