SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX -- Senior Val Beckwith led the way with 25 points,eight rebounds and three steals as the Bates College women's basketball team defeated Lynchburg College 84-75 Saturday in the South Padre Shootout.
Junior Lauren Yanofsky added 13 points, six rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals as the Bobcats (7-1) won their fifth straight game. Junior guard Dana Esposito scored a game-high 28 points for Lynchburg (3-5), shooting 12-of-17 from the field. Junior Brittany Dahn added nine points and eight caroms.
Bates sophomore Maggie DePoy netted 11 points on 3-4 shooting from behind the arc, while Annie Burns scored nine points with eight assists and four steals.
Bates trailed 13-10 early on before a 27-14 outburst that gave the Bobcats a 40-24 lead with 3:47 to go in the first half. DePoy scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers, in a span of six Bates possessions, in the outburst, as the Bobcats were able to score on eight consecutive possessions. But Lynchburg was able to cut the lead to 44-37 before the break.
Lynchburg clawed back into a tie at 61-61 with 10:26 remaining, but a Yanofsky layup gave the Bobcats the lead back for good. Still, an Esposito layup made it 73-70 Bates with 2:31 remaining, before an 11-3 run, featuring seven points by Beckwith (five from the foul line) sewed up the victory.
Bates hit 49.2 percent from the field and 88.0 percent at the free throw line, and recorded 22 assists on 29 field goals.
Beckwith's 25 points vaulted her past Lisa Kelley '86 into sixth place on Bates' all-time scoring list. She now has 1,168 career points.
