Hamilton College's Sam Graber '16 ended up three assists away from a triple-double and the Continentals cruised to a 57-45 non-conference win against the Alfred University Saxons at Alfred's Terry S. Galanis Family Arena on Friday night.
Box Score
Graber finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists. The double-double is the 19th of her Hamilton career. She is ranked second in the NESCAC with 17.5 points per game and ninth with 8.3 rebounds per game.
Claire Hebb '19 came off the Continentals' bench and dropped in a season -high 12 points. Lauren Getman '18 added nine points and 11 boards. Hamilton (3-3 overall) enjoyed a 56-41 cushion on the glass, including 24 offensive rebounds, and held a 16-4 advantage in second-chance points.
Alfred's Amanda Off led all players with 20 points and Taylor Kelley grabbed eight rebounds and blocked eight shots. The Saxons (0-7) shot 29.3 percent from the floor.
A layup by Off gave Alfred a 9-6 lead with 2:07 left in the first quarter. The Continentals then took the lead for good with a 14-0 run that bridged the first and second quarters.
Mia Caterisano '19 started the spurt with two free throws and Hebb beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer that gave Hamilton an 11-9 edge after 10 minutes. Graber opened the second quarter with two baskets within the first minute, Getman drained a shot from beyond the arc and a jumper by Carly Gruenberg '16 made it 20-9 with 6:21 remaining in the second.
Two free throws by Maddi Flint with 3:49 to go in the quarter ended an eight-plus minute scoring drought for the Saxons but the damage had already been done. Alfred didn't get closer than nine points the rest of the night and the Continentals took a 27-14 lead into the break. The Saxons shot 16 percent (4 of 25) from the field in the first 20 minutes.
Hamilton scored the first eight points of the third quarter and the Continentals took their largest lead of the evening at 21 points at 35-14 on a Hebb layup with 6:18 left. Hamilton led 43-28 after three quarters and was never threatened in the fourth.
The Continentals host Cazenovia College for another non-conference game on Monday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m.
