Bates women’s basketball emerged triumphant over Brooklyn College 66-51 on March 1, moving on to the second round of the NCAA DIII Tournament.

Despite an early lead for Bates, ending the first quarter 17-5, Brooklyn quickly caught up, ending the first half 25-22 with Bates still in the lead.

Head Coach Alison Montgomery credited Brooklyn’s tough zone defense for the challenge.

“The style they play is different than we really have faced all year. We haven’t been zoned since December for an entire game,” Montgomery said. “So we didn’t really prepare for that. But also, we knew that would be a challenge. We’re a team that takes care of the ball, and we turned it over way more than we usually do. So really, credit to them.”

The game was tensely physical from start to finish. Brooklyn committed 18 personal fouls to Bates’ 14. 

Leading the game offensively with 20 points and 20 rebounds, center-forward Elsa Daulerio ‘26 pointed to her offensive play as one reason Bates drew so many fouls from Brooklyn.

“Their zone [defense] was really clogging up the paint,” Daulerio said. “I feel like my offensive fouls helped with drawing fouls. That helped us a lot, to attack the rim and draw fouls.”

Another breakout star in the game was guard Sarah Hughes ‘27, who was sent in after captain and guard Morgan Kennedy ‘24 committed two fouls in the first quarter. Montgomery commended Hughes’ scrappy, brave play after the game.

“It’s now or never,” Hughes said of her mindset during the game. “I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, playing an NCAA Tournament game in Alumni Gym, so I just thought I’d give it my all.”

Though Bates lost in the NESCAC final to Bowdoin, they were still able to secure a spot in the NCAA DIII Tournament, hosting the first two rounds. They haven’t taken home court for granted.

“We’ve been talking about it all week,” Kennedy said. “It’s such a privilege…to host in the tournament. And we love Alumni magic so much, and just to be able to play for our community and see how many people show up for us is a super special feeling we don’t take for granted.”

Tickets for the game sold out in minutes and students, faculty, and community members packed Alumni Gym, keeping it loud and spirited the entire time. In the final quarter, President Garry Jenkins even joined the student section, drawing chants of “Garry Jenkins!” in the final minutes of the game.

“[The students] were doing such a good job of cheering on our team, I just wanted to go over and say ‘hi,’” Jenkins said. “It’s not every year that you make it to the NCAA Tournament, and it’s lovely to see our student athletes shining.”

Following the first-round win, Bates will play Widener University in Alumni Gymnasium on March 2 at 6:30 p.m. Montgomery reminded her team of how high stakes each game was at this point, even if they’re used to playing back-to-back.

“Every single team we face is fighting for their life,” Montgomery said. “Every single team we play from here on out is talented, competitive, and wants to win just as bad as we do. So we definitely respect that. And we’re excited for another chance tomorrow.”

Montgomery’s players echoed her sentiments.

“We’re staying hungry. We’re not satisfied,” Hughes said. “We’re gonna earn everything. We’re not going to expect anything given.”