Bates College senior Mia Roy, left, and junior Meghan Graff react to the gameplay during a game against Hamilton at Alumni Gym in Lewiston on Jan. 15, 2022. Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College

Bates College senior guard Meghan Graff was named to the D3hoops.com women’s basketball preseason All-American first team Thursday.

Graff, a South Portland native and a captain of this season’s Bobcats squad, is coming off a 2021-22 campaign in which she averaged a team-leading 16.2 points per game and helped Bates claim its first-ever New England Small College Athletic Conference tournament championship.

She scored 20 or more points seven times, including in consecutive games in the NESCAC tournament semifinals and final.

Graff was named a D3hoops.com second-team All-American after last season, as well as the D3hoops.com Women’s Basketball Region 1 Player of the Year, the NESCAC Player of the Year and a first-team all-state selection.

She enters the 2022-23 season ranked 11th on the Bates program all-time scoring list with 1,150 career points. The Bobcats open the season Saturday, Nov. 12, at home against Tufts.

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