Women’s basketball’s tournament run came to an end after taking on the number two-seed Scranton University for a chance at advancing to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament on March 13.
Despite outscoring the Royals in the second half, they were unable to seal the comeback.
Members of the senior class had a notable final game. NESCAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year Elsa Daulerio ‘26 capped off her final basketball season with 18 points, on 7-10 shooting. Sophie Spolter ‘26 also had a strong offensive performance with 16 points, along with Ava James ‘26 who knocked down crucial three-pointers on 4-7 shooting, finishing with ten points.
The Bobcats came up short on rebounding, where the Royals were able to capitalize. Scranton out-rebounded Bates 43-28 with 16 second-chance points compared to the Bobcats who only had three. In addition, the Royals dominated in the paint, outshooting the Bobcats 40-12 and had 17 points coming off the bench where the Bobcats had two.
The Bobcats had a challenging first half, falling into foul trouble early. This forced key starters Maya Hicks ‘27 and Spolter to the bench while the team also struggled with ball control. However, they began to chip away at Scranton’s lead in the second half and finished strong in spite of their loss.
Bates had a historic season, achieving the most wins in program history with a 26-4 record. The Bobcats earned a second NESCAC title, upsetting Bowdoin in Brunswick, and tallied their fourth bid to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
“I could not be prouder of this team and our ability to handle adversity and respond all season,” Daulerio said. “The post season really showed how hard we’ve worked for the past five months and encapsulates how special our program is.”
The Scranton Royals are a Division III basketball powerhouse having defeated Division I University of Pittsburgh 69-63 in a regular season game on Nov. 16, 2025. The program set an NCAA record of 38 tournament appearances with an active streak of 13 appearances as of 2026.
Scranton made it to the National Championship where they were defeated 55-41 by Denison University on March 21.
Even though the season ended in Scranton, the Bobcats demonstrated resilience throughout the year, often overcoming deficits to win, including their notable tournament defeat of Smith College on March 7. Bates will look to build on this postseason experience with a talented returning roster.
