LEWISTON, Maine - Sara Binkhorst set a new school record with seven three-pointers as the Bowdoin College women's basketball team survived a late scare from Bates 74-67 on Friday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.

The 18th-ranked Polar Bears improve to 21-2 (9-0 NESCAC) with their 18th consecutive win. Bowdoin will travel to Tufts on Saturday in Medford at 3:00 p.m. with the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament on the line. Bates remains winless in conference play as they fall to 9-14 (0-9 NESCAC).

Binkhorst broke the school record of six three-pointers held by seven former Polar Bears. She led the way for Bowdoin with 29 points while Shannon Brady contributed 15 points and eight rebounds for Bowdoin. Kate Kerrigan added 13 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Bates' Nina Davenport had a game-high 34 points in the loss.

Bowdoin scored the first 12 points of the contest, powered by threes from Binkhorst and Kerrigan. Bates netted its first points with a pair of free throws by Bernadette Connors at the 14:25 mark, and Davenport made it 12-4 with a defensive rebound and a coast-to-coast layup. Davenport knocked down a jumper and followed with her first three to close the gap to 14-9 and prompt a Bowdoin timeout at 10:38. A three by Bates' Kristin Calvo and a Davenport jumper closed the gap to 22-18, but Lydia Caputi responded with a three, and Binkhorst scored a three-point play with 3:28 to go to expand the edge into double digits (28-18). The Polar Bears carried a ten-point lead, 35-25, into halftime.

Binkhorst continued to thwart Bates' defense, drilling threes at 13:43 and 12:26 of the second half to open up a 48-34 advantage. Bates began chipping away with a pair of Davenport free throws, and unanswered hoops by Emily Freedland, Coppola, Jackie Welch and Connors closed the gap to 48-44. Binkhorst answered with a three, followed by a three-point play by Siena Mitman for a 54-46 lead, prompting a Bates timeout with 8:00 to go.

Nason drained her first three out of the timeout with 7:48 to go in the game, closing the gap to 54-49, but Binkhorst responded with another three of her own. After a layup by Bowdoin's Marle Curle at 6:51, Coppola converted a three-point play to start a run of nine unanswered points by the Bobcats, combined with threes by Nason and Davenport, the latter of which put Bates on top for the first and only time in the game at 60-59.

Binkhorst again had the answer for Bowdoin, calmly sinking a 15-foot jumper to regain the lead, and Kerrigan followed with a pair of free throws, then a steal and a layup for a 65-60 lead. Bowdoin made 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch to preserve the win.