CASTINE, Maine – Juniors Amber Legare and Nicole DeMarchena both posted double-doubles in leading Mount Holyoke to a 77-63 win over Bates College in the Mariner Pepsi Challenge Friday night. The Lyons (1-0) advanced to Saturday's 3 p.m. championship game opposite Maine Maritime, a 56-50 winner over Simmons College in the first game. The Bobcats will play the Sharks in the 1 p.m. consolation game.

Legare netted 19 point and pulled down 14 rebounds and DeMarchena had 10 points with 12 rebounds. Three other Lyons' player reached double figure led by Kate Karraker's 20 points, which included going 4-for-6 from three-point range, while Jennine Vizcaino added 16 and Genelle Green had 10.

Meredith Kelly led all scorers with with 26 points for Bates and Bernadette Connors added 12. Both players shared a team-high in rebounds with nine boards each.

A pair of DeMarchena free throws gave MHC a 7-4 lead early in the game before a Kelly layup gave the Bobcats an 8-7 advantage with 16:35 left in the first. The lead went back and forth over the next six minutes before a three from Karraker gave the Lyons their largest lad, 25-18, with 9:05 left in the opening half.

Kelly got the Bobcats within five with a layup at 6:59 before a 10-2 run by MHC gave it a 37-24 lead with 2:51 left. Bates countered with a 9-0 run to make 37-33 at halftime.

The second half saw four ties in the first 13 minutes before the Lyons created separation with an 11-1 run spanning four minutes, and led 69-58 on a Vizcaino layup at 3:50. Bates got as close as eight before the Lyons made a final push in the final two minutes.

Story courtesy of Matt Blymier, Maine Maritime Sports Information.