Meghan Fiore '13 scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Utica College to a 48-44 win against Hamilton College in a non-conference women's basketball game at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Dec. 3.
Fiore's two free throws with 1:07 left gave Utica the lead for good at 46-44. Katie McGee '12 chipped in 11 points -- 10 in the first half -- and eight assists. Justine Karst '12 pulled down nine boards and was credited with four steals. Alyssa Filkins '14 added eight points.
Madie Harlem '13 paced the Continentals with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Harlem recorded 12 of those points in the second half as Hamilton nearly completed a rally from 10 points down at the half.
Olivia Pimm '14 had seven points and a team-high nine boards for the Continentals. Kim Goidell '13 registered all eight of her points in the second half and handed out four assists, and Dani Feigin '14 dropped in eight points in her first start of 2011-12.
Hamilton (2-4 overall) jumped out to an early 8-4 lead on 3-pointers by Feigin and Harlem sandwiched around a Pimm jumper. The Pioneers scored the next 19 points to take a commanding 23-8 advantage. Fiore and McGee combined for 13 points during the run.
Pimm's layup with 4:44 left in the half was the Continentals' first field goal in nearly nine minutes. It also started a 7-2 Hamilton spurt to end the half. Utica led 25-15 at the break. The Pioneers shot 52.6 percent from the field, while the Continentals made just 20 percent of their shots.
Hamilton scored the first eight points of the second half to get right back into the game. Harlem made a free throw and a jumper, Isabel Pagliaccio '14 and Feigin drained jumpers, and Pimm made a free throw with 16:06 remaining.
Utica (4-2) responded with an 8-2 mini-run to push its lead back to eight points at 33-25 with 13:20 left. The Pioneers still led 39-34 on Fiore's layup with 5:36 remaining. Consecutive 3-pointers by Harlem and Goidell gave the Continentals a 40-39 lead -- their first since early in the first half -- with 3:53 left.
Fiore put Utica back in front with a layup on its next possession, and a basket by Filkins made the score 43-40. Two straight baskets by Harlem gave Hamilton its last lead at 44-43 with 1:33 remaining.
On the Pioneers' next possession, Karst was fouled with 1:08 left and made the first free throw. She missed the second, Fiore came down with the offensive rebound and was immediately fouled. She made both shots for a two-point lead.
Karst forced a turnover by the Continentals, McGee was eventually fouled and made another free throw for a 47-44 lead with 17.2 seconds left. Hamilton missed a 3-point attempt with 7 seconds remaining and Karst went 1-for-2 at the line with 0.2 seconds left for the final margin.
Utica ended up 6 of 10 from 3-point range and 40 percent from the floor overall. The Pioneers committed 21 turnovers. The Continentals shot 28 percent and attempted just three free throws. Hamilton turned the ball over eight times. The Continentals lead the all-time series 23-11, and had won the last five meetings.
Hamilton travels to Wells College for a non-conference game on Monday, Dec. 5. Utica hosts Cazenovia College on Monday.
