The Hamilton College Continentals (0-1 overall) opened their season with a 70-65 loss to SUNY Oneonta in the opening round of the 37th Skidmore College Invitational at the Williamson Sports Center on Nov. 15.
Box score
Hamilton closes out the tournament on Saturday against Western New England University at 2 p.m. WNEU defeated Skidmore 64-52 on Friday night.
The Continentals rallied from an 11-point first half deficit to take a one-point lead into intermission before the Red Dragons opened the second half with an 11-3 run. The Continentals fought back to take a one-point lead with 6:40 left but Oneonta scored the game’s next seven points.
Samantha Graber ’16 led Hamilton with career-high totals of 23 points and eight assists. Graber had a hand in 15 of the Continentals’ 21 baskets, making 7 of 12 shots from the field, including a 4 of 5 showing from 3-point range. Graber, who led all scorers, pulled down six rebounds and collected three steals.
Serena Ward ’16 posted a career-best scoring effort as well with 14 points along with six rebounds. Ward made 3 of 4 three-point attempts, helping Hamilton shoot 52 percent (13 of 25) from behind the arc.
Florence Turiaf ‘17, the lone rookie in Hamilton’s starting line-up, was the game’s leading rebounder with seven. Turiaf contributed three assists and a pair of steals. Dani Feigin ’14 scored 10 points and added five assists (one short of her personal best).
The Red Dragons (1-0) were led by Sarah Longto, who scored 17 points. Grace Schilling and Alyshia Crawford (who had eight assists), finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
After Oneonta jumped out to a 31-20 advantage with 6:47 left in the opening half, the Continentals went on an 18-7 run sparked by Ward’s nine points and Graber’s seven. Turiaf capped the stretch with a fast-break layup that put Hamilton up 38-37 six seconds before the break.
The Continentals used a 14-6 second-half run to take their final lead. Oneonta’s 10-2 spurt put the Red Dragons ahead 50-43 with 14:02 left. Three-point baskets by Caroline Barrett ’17 and Feigin helped pull the Continentals within two points and a 3-pointer by Carly Gruenberg ’16 put them ahead 57-56 with 6:40 left.
Oneonta’s 7-0 run was followed by another Feigin 3-point basket that cut the Red Dragon lead to three points but Hamilton didn’t get closer. The Continentals held Oneonta to one basket over the final 3:39 and climbed within 68-65 on Graber’s free throw with 26 seconds left but the Red Dragons converted a pair of free throws and sealed the win.
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