Colby College's Haley Driscoll '18 and Carylanne Wolfington '16 scored 11 points apiece and the Mules edged the Hamilton College Continentals 47-45 in a NESCAC game at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Friday night.
Box Score
Sam Graber '16 made a layup that pulled the Continentals within 47-45 with 53 seconds left. Colby missed a 3-point shot on its next possession and Samantha Srinivasan '18 grabbed the rebound for Hamilton.
The Continentals (9-6, 1-2 NESCAC) called a timeout with 17 seconds remaining. Theresa Salud '17 took the inbounds pass, dribbled into the lane and lost the ball. The Mules grabbed the loose ball and called a timeout.
Hamilton was forced to foul and the Continentals put Wolfington on the line for a 1-and-1 with 7.1 seconds to go. She missed the front end and Graber ended up with the rebound. She dribbled into the frontcourt and launched a 3-pointer that was on target but the shot was short and just grazed the front of the rim. The buzzer sounded as players scrambled for the loose ball.
Caitlyn Nolan '17 chipped in nine points for Colby (11-3, 2-1). Brooke Chandor '15 added eight points and eight boards, and Mia Diplock '16 handed out four assists.
Graber, who was leading the NESCAC in scoring at 18.9 points per game going into the evening, finished with 11 and seven rebounds. Adrianna Pulford '15 tied a career high with 10 points and Caroline Barrett '17 posted nine points and four assists. Srinivasan contributed eight boards off the bench.
The game was close throughout as there were 16 lead changes and eight ties, and when the Mules led by six points at 45-39 with 4:00 left, it was the largest lead of the night for either team.
Hamilton jumped out to a 7-2 lead on a layup by Graber, a 3-pointer by Salud and a layup by Lauren Getman '18. Colby roared back with a 12-2 run fueled by a pair of Wolfington 3-pointers for a 14-9 advantage midway through the first half.
The Continentals responded with a 7-0 spurt for a 16-14 edge with 8:40 remaining. Neither team led by more than two points the rest of the half. Driscoll scored from close range with 38 seconds to go and the teams went to the break tied at 22-22.
A jumper by Pulford marked the first points of the second half nearly three minutes in as Hamilton took a 24-22 lead. Neither team could find much breathing room until Srinivasan broke a 32-32 tie with a three-point play with 9:45 left.
Driscoll scored the next seven points and gave the Mules the lead for good at 39-35 with 7:50 remaining. Two free throws by Wolfington with 4:00 to go gave Colby a 45-39 cushion. Baskets by Barrett and Pulford pulled the Continentals within 45-43 with 1:48 left. Chandor's jumper made it 47-43 with 1:20 remaining.
The Mules shot 37.3 percent, including 4 of 22 from 3-point range. Hamilton shot 32.2 percent, including 3 of 19 from long range. The Continentals missed all nine of their attempts from beyond the arc in the second half. Hamilton held a 39-34 advantage on the glass. Colby leads the all-time series, 12-1.
The Continentals host nationally ranked No. 25 Bowdoin College on Saturday, Jan. 17. The Mules travel to No. 17 Williams College on Saturday afternoon.
