HARTFORD, Conn. - Junior captain Meghan Graff scored a game-high 20 points and the Bates women's basketball team made a clutch defensive stand at the end of the game to defeat top seed Trinity 57-55 in the NESCAC semifinals Saturday afternoon.

The Bobcats (16-7) advance to the NESCAC Championship game for the first time since the 2005-06 season. They face No. 3 Amherst Sunday at 12 p.m. The Mammoths defeated the Tufts Jumbos, 73-59, in the other semifinal contest on Saturday.

With the score tied at 55 and 1:04 remaining in regulation, Graff (South Portland, Maine) drew a foul on a drive to the hoop. She sank both free throws to put Bates up two. The Bantams (17-6) had multiple chances to tie or take the lead in the final minute of action but each time the Bates defense held. Senior captain Taylor McVeigh tallied a key steal along the baseline with 38 seconds left but the Bobcats couldn't convert on the other end, giving Trinity one last possession with six seconds remaining. 

Trinity's Indianna DelRocco drove to the hoop and Bobcat senior Mia Roy stood tall, forcing an off-balance shot at the buzzer that missed the mark, clinching the win for Bates.

The game featured five ties and five lead changes, with the Bobcats leading by as many as 10 points and the Bantams by as many as six. Bates led 34-26 at halftime only to see Trinity grab a 42-40 lead with 1:42 left in the third quarter on an old-fashioned three-point play from Liz Althoff.

But Graff answered with two free throws on the other end and Trinity never led again. With the score tied at 42, senior Ariana Dalia split a pair of free throws to end the third quarter, putting the Bobcats up 43-42 entering the final 10 minutes of action. 

The Bobcats struck first in the fourth quarter thanks to a three-pointer from Graff. Then the Bantams rallied, tying the game at 46 on an Althoff layup with 7:08 to go. Roy hit a three to put Bates back ahead and the Bobcats maintained their edge until late in the fourth quarter. Bailey Hyland split a pair of free throws to trim the Bates edge to two with 2:15 remaining. Then Hyland got the rebound on a missed jumper from the Bobcats and Reilly Campbell found Samantha Gallo for the game-tying layup with 1:27 left.

But it was Campbell who fouled Graff on her ensuing drive to the hoop, setting up the dramatic finish.

Sophomore Morgan Kennedy had a big game for Bates, pouring in 14 points on 6-11 shooting. Dalia finished with a double-double, tallying 11 points and 12 rebounds. First-year Alexandra Long played just 12 and a half minutes off the bench, tallying two points, three rebounds, and an assist. But what stood out about Long is that Bates outscored Trinity by nine points when she was on the court, the best +/- of any player for either team on the afternoon.

Bates led the game for more than 27 minutes, mostly holding off Trinity's comeback attempts despite the Bantams outscoring Bates 16-9 in the third quarter.

Second chance points once again proved to be a big difference maker, with Bates recording 15 to Trinity's seven. 

Campbell paced the Bantams with 18 points on 7-12 shooting. Graff dished out a team-high four assists to go along with her game-high 20 points. 

The Bantams shot the ball better than Bates, hitting 45.8 percent of their shots from the field. The Bobcats finished the game shooting just 33.9% but they hit five three-pointers on 16 attempts to Trinity's two on 11 attempts. The Bobcats continued to dominate at the free throw line, making 12 of 13 of their attempts. By contrast, Trinity was just 9-14 from the line. 

This is the fifth time in program history Bates has advanced to the NESCAC Championship game. The Bobcats went four straight years from 2002-03 to 2005-06 and have not been back until now. They have never won a NESCAC title. Only Tufts, Amherst, and Bowdoin have won NESCAC Championships in women's basketball since the conference established the tournament in 2000-01.