By Sun Journal staff

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The Bates women’s basketball team led all but 6:28 of regulation time, but Buffalo State surged back to send the game into overtime, where the Bengals prevailed with a 69-67 over the Bobcats in their second game of the Daytona Beach Shootout.

Buffalo State (9-1) outscored Bates (5-4) 19-3 over the final five minutes of the second half, overcoming a 16-point Bates lead. A pair of free throws by Bianca Smiley gave Buffalo State its first lead since the 14:03 mark of the first half with 1:00 left in regulation, Bates senior Annie Burns hit the second of two free throws with 16 seconds left in regulation to tie the game back up. The game was sent into overtime when Smiley missed a layup attempt at the buzzer.

Sophomore Meredith Kelly led the Bobcats with 18 points and grabbed five rebounds, earning all-tournament honors along with Buffalo State’s Smiley. Junior Allie Beaulieu added 17 points and tied Burns for the team rebounding lead, with six. Burns handed out four assists and made a pair of steals. First-year Allaina Murphy of Poland Spring and junior Taryn O’Connell added eight points apiece for the Bobcats.

Duquesne 76, Maine 38

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Maine women’s basketball team ran into a Duquesne team made up of fierce defensive pressure and a solid offensive attack as the Dukes defeated Maine 76-38 in the opening round of the Gator Holiday Classic.

Courtney Anderson of Greene paced Maine with six points, three rebounds and three assists as the Black Bears slip back to 3-8 overall while Duquesne improves to 10-1. The Dukes used 34 points off turnovers and 14 fastbreak scores to build their runs as Alex Gensler led the Duquesne attack with 15 points on 3-for-12 shooting from the field. Duquesne had four scorers in double-figures.

The Maine defense recorded seven steals paced by Rebecca Knight’s solid game of six points, three rebounds, two steals and a block.

Knight paced the first half Black Bear attack with six points and three rebounds while Wumi Agunbiade netted seven points to go along with four rebounds for the Dukes.