Behind by 16 points at the half, women’s basketball needed a serious comeback to defeat Smith College, a DIII powerhouse who were national runners-up in both 2024 and 2025.

But the Bobcats that came back after halftime appeared an almost entirely different team from before, outscoring Smith 37-21 in the second half and ultimately pulling a 74-70 win in overtime.

“We talked about, obviously, the resilience of just feeling like it’s never over until that final buzzer sounds,” Head Coach Alison Montgomery said. “We felt like we just needed to settle in and finish the shots that we were getting.”

Bates ignited the crowd early on as Sophie Spolter ‘26 took a foul that generated “You can’t do that” chants from the student section. The Bobcats continued to respond to Smith’s defensive pressure by finding space beyond the arc and in the paint.

However, the initial chemistry that produced an early lead for the Bobcats was disrupted after multiple fouls were called on Petra Kuncz ‘27 that resulted in Smith extending their lead by seven at the end of the quarter.

The Bobcats ran cold offensively for the majority of the second quarter. Smith began to pull away, generating defensive stops that they were able to capitalize on, increasing their lead to 18. But the Bobcats refused to give in that easily as Spolter came up with a steal where Daulerio was able to fight off defenders to score in the paint.

Smith attempted to silence the fast break with a three pointer, to which Ava James ‘26 responded with a three of her own.

The brief offensive momentum the Bobcats were able to create began to lose steam, and they entered halftime with a 16 point deficit.

Smith put pressure on Bates’ typical top scorers, Elsa Daulerio ‘26 and Sarah Hughes ‘27, who both faced multiple defenders on each shot.

“Smith was really keying in on a couple of our players who have led us the last couple games,” Montgomery said.

Smith’s Mya Williams ‘28 was among the Bears’ strongest defensive players, putting consistent pressure on players like Hughes and Daulerio, while Virginia Johnson ‘27 led the team with 13 rebounds off of Bates’ many missed shots. Mya Hicks ‘27 said part of Bates’ adjustment to Smith’s strong defense was “having each other’s backs.”

But other players stepped in where Smith’s defense was not as strong. Spolter and Hicks ended up leading the game in scoring for the Bobcats, sinking 20 and 19 points respectively.

“That’s been the story of this team all year long, is that we’re deep, and people step up,” Montgomery said. “These two…stepped up big time to get that one for their team.”

It was Hicks who sunk the three-pointer that tied up the game. But she later said she was not focusing on it at the moment – rather, she was taking each opportunity and shot as they came.

“​​The whole theme that we’ve had this year has really been a one-at-a-time mentality, and I think that’s something that we took extremely seriously after we came out of half,” Hicks said. “After I hit that three, I was looking at my team, and I was like, ‘All right, guys, we just got to get a stop and then we just got to get another score.’”

Meanwhile, Spolter was consistent from the team’s earlier match against Merchant Marine Academy, hitting 20 points in each game. Spolter consistently drove the ball up the court and evaded Smith’s strong defense.

“I just came in with the mindset of, ‘my shots are going to go in, and I’m going to be aggressive, and my teammates got me open,’” Spolter said. “Just being aggressive and wanting to win, having some senior magic, a little bit of Alumni Magic, the community, everything goes into it.”

Despite getting extreme defensive pressure throughout, Hughes also contributed with a career-high rebound game, grabbing the ball off of a Smith shot 13 times to give Bates possession. Overall, Bates out-rebounded Smith 45-39, capitalizing on many of Smith’s missed shots to close the lead wherever possible.

“I think it was a key focus for us to rebound, because that’s what propels us forward offensively,” Hicks said.

Bates comes out halftime with a renewed intensity that was seen at the start of the match-up. Daulerio immediately had a pull-up jumper in the paint followed by a jumper from Spolter, and a knockdown three-pointer from Hicks.

The Bobcats continued to attack the rim, taking advantage of every scoring opportunity that chipped away at Smith’s double-digit lead.

A comeback like this isn’t new to Bates this season as they overcame a similar deficit in an overtime win against Hamilton in the NESCAC quarter finals.

Lily Lambo ‘28 was a vital component in closing the gap as she controlled the floor on both ends, disrupting on defense by stripping the ball away from Smith and capitalizing offensively.

The shift in momentum was revealed in the fourth where the Bobcats continued to apply pressure to Smith’s offense to where they were only allowed five points.

A crucial game tying three-pointer from Hicks set Alumni on fire as the Bobcats had an overtime chance to pull out an upset win over the number six nationally ranked team to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

An overtime appearance did not shake the Bobcats as they were fueled from the opportunity while Smith had to navigate a confidence set-back from losing a double digits advantage.

“I was more tired in the third quarter than I was in overtime,” said Spolter. “We knew what we needed to do and gave everything we had for that last five minutes.”

Despite the large deficit, the Bobcats refused to cave, adjusting to Smith’s tactics and playing an entirely new game out of halftime that gave them control.

“I always want to give the message to the team that whatever position that we’re in, this is where we want to be,” said Montgomery. “I never…want them to feel overwhelmed by adversity.”

Smith Head Coach Lynn Hersey expressed remorse that Smith could not answer to Bates’ improved gameplay, but gave the Bobcats credit for their strength.

“They played a good game, kept their composure when we had a nice lead on them, and just battled back,” Hersey said. “They made big plays down the stretch…we wish them well in the next round.”

Hersey said Smith’s second-half weaknesses were unusual for the team.

“We’re pretty disappointed. This is obviously not a situation that we find ourselves in often,” Hersey said, referencing Smith’s stellar postseason record. “But we didn’t make plays down the stretch. We did not execute the way we typically do.”

In the first half, Hersey said a lot of what worked for her team was their characteristic pressure and drive.

“We’re an up-tempo team, and so that helped us a little bit with some of the offensive looks we were getting,” Hersey said. “It was a combination of following our game plan and controlling boards, making them play a half court game, and not getting those transition points.”

But in the second half, much of this fell apart.

“We scored five points in the fourth. That’s unusual for us,” Hersey said. “We didn’t shoot the ball super well, and some of our shot selection wasn’t the best. That’s where the shift really happened.”

Going into the next season, Smith is only losing one graduating senior. Its continuing players said this loss taught them quite a bit. The Bears’ Hannah Martin ‘27, who led her team with 19 points, specifically cited a new lesson about how to play in high pressure situations.

“Our gym at home is pretty loud like [Alumni], so I think it was upsetting when we weren’t able to execute down the stretch,” Martin said. “We’ll have the experience from this game. We’ll be able to sit in it, learn from it, and next year, use it to motivate us to have another great season and get back to this point.”

Johnson agreed that the outcome of this game would push the team to do better in the future.

“I think I’m not going to forget this feeling,” Johnson said. “So I think whenever it’s August and you don’t want to work out, or you’re tired – remembering that, because this sucks.”

Alumni Gym was packed with Smith and Bates fans alike, creating a thunderous atmosphere of competing chants and support for both teams.

Hersey noted this. “What a great environment to be a part of today, in terms of both communities supporting the women out in the court and being really kind of in the fight with us,” she said. “Ultimately, that’s such a respect for the game. We’re really proud to be a part of that piece of it.”

It was the final game played in Alumni before its renovation beginning later this year, and though the gym will be back in commission in 2027, it will not be used next season.

“We were all just saying, before the game, at half, after the game, this gym is something really special,” Hicks said. “This community is something really special, and so is this team. And no matter what happened in that game, we just wanted to make every little second count.”

Following their sold-out game against Merchant Marine, Spolter echoed Hicks’ sentiments, expressing her gratitude for the Batesies who showed up and showed out.

“It’s just everything, the community and everyone’s showing up. It was even better than yesterday,” Spolter said. “I don’t know how it was better than yesterday, but it was, and just everyone showing up and cheering, it was great.”

Women’s basketball continues their postseason run on March 13 in the Sweet Sixteen against the University of Scranton, who is undefeated at 29-0, in Scranton, Penn.

Going into the match-up, Montgomery said her team is prepared.

“I think this group has done a really good job of…understanding that to really believe in that end goal, you just have to show up every single day and do it one at a time, one day at a time, one possession at a time,” she said. “We’re thinking about the Sweet Sixteen game, and we really feel like we’re pretty battle tested and prepared.”

Additional reporting by Trinity Poon ‘26.