Samantha Graber '16 tallied a season-high 22 points to go with four steals and Hamilton College coasted to an 88-52 win over Alfred University in a non-conference game at Hamilton’s Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Dec. 8.
The Continentals (4-3 overall) extended their current win streak to four games. The 88 points for Hamilton was the most since the Continentals scored 93 in a win over Cazenovia College on Nov. 18, 2008. Hamilton notched its first victory over the Saxons in three meetings.
Graber was 9 of 11 from the floor and played just 21 minutes. Madie Harlem '13 added 16 points and a career-high eight assists. Eliza Howe '13 tacked on eight points and Kim Goidell '13 scored seven, grabbed a season-high nine boards and passed out four assists. Dani Feigin '14 contributed five helpers. The Continentals finished with 24 assists on 35 made baskets.
Harley Cleary '15 poured in a game-high 23 points, including a perfect 4 of 4 from long range, for the Saxons. Cate Mensler '14 and Sarah Frederico '14 each had a team-high six rebounds. Heather Hebert '16 led the visitors with four assists.
Alfred (4-5) held a 9-6 lead just over three minutes into the first half when the Continentals went on a 15-2 run to go up 21-11. Graber led the way with eight points, Feigin knocked down a three and Serena Ward '16 and Harlem each scored two points.
The Saxons battled back with an 11-2 run to cut the Hamilton lead to 23-22 with 6:09 left in the first half. However, the Continentals' full-court pressure defense turned up the heat, which led to a 17-2 run and a 40-24 advantage. Graber paved the way with seven points, while Harlem added six and Howe had four.
Graber, who ended up with 20 points in the first half, gave Hamilton its largest lead of the opening 20 minutes at 45-26 as she drained her second 3-pointer with 1:24 remaining. The Saxons added three free throws and Ward hit a jumper to bring the score at the break to 47-29. Hamilton shot 58.1 percent (18-31) from the field, knocked down 3 of 5 shots from beyond the arc and went 8-for-9 at the free throw line.
Hamilton extended its lead to 55-31 early in the second half by scoring eight of the first 10 points. The Continentals led 64-42 midway through the second half when they used a 16-4 run to push the score to 80-46 with 6:13 left. Carly Gruenberg '16 converted a pair of layups, Corinne Hom '16 drilled a trifecta from the top of the key and Margaret Smith '15 scored five points to help provide the offense during the spurt. The 36-point final margin was also the largest Hamilton lead of the afternoon.
The Continentals ended up shooting 49.3 percent from the field (35-71), including 6 of 12 from beyond the arc. Alfred shot just 36.7 percent (18-49) from the floor. Hamilton's 16 steals helped force 27 turnovers, and the Continentals outrebounded the Saxons 41-28 thanks to 15 offensive boards.
Hamilton travels to SUNY New Paltz for another non-conference game on Tuesday, Dec. 11. Alfred returns to action on Friday, Jan. 4, when they go on the road to Ithaca College in Empire 8 conference play.
