Williams College limited the Hamilton College Continentals to four points in the third quarter and the Ephs rallied for a 59-50 NESCAC win at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Friday night.
Box Score
Williams (12-4, 2-3 NESCAC) defeated the Continentals for the seventh time in a row. The Ephs made 19 free throws as Hamilton was whistled for 26 fouls. The Continentals attempted just seven shots at the charity stripe.
Hamilton (5-11, 1-4) enjoyed a 34-23 lead at the half but the Continentals made two baskets in the third quarter and Williams took the lead for good just before the buzzer at the end of the third.
Sam Graber '16 paced Hamilton with a game-high 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Graber is fourth in the NESCAC in scoring with 16.6 points per game and she has scored 20 or more points six times this season.
Lauren Getman '18 chipped in 10 points for the Continentals before she fouled out with 1:57 left in the fourth quarter. Carly Gruenberg '16 was credited with three steals.
Amanni Fernandez came off the bench to lead the Ephs with 18 points, four assists and four steals. Fernandez went 9-for-10 at the line. Katie Litman posted 12 points and eight boards, and Devon Caveney added nine points and a game-high five steals. Williams finished with 15 steals as a team, including 10 in the last two quarters.
Hamilton matched its largest lead of the night of 11 points at 36-25 on a Kendall Rallins '19 layup with 7:40 remaining in the third quarter. The Continentals still held a 38-35 edge after a Getman jumper with 2:12 to go.
The Ephs seized control of the contest with a 14-1 run after Getman's hoop. Williams scored the final five points of the third quarter on two Fernandez free throws, another by Kristin Fechtelkotter and a buzzer-beating basket by Fernandez that gave the Ephs a 40-38 lead.
Fernandez started the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer. After a free throw by Rallins cut Hamilton's deficit to 43-39, Fechtelkotter, Oge Uwanaka and Litman capped the spurt with three baskets in the paint for a 49-39 cushion with 6:09 left.
The Continentals didn't get closer than six points the rest of the way and Williams took its largest lead of 11 points at 52-41 on a Litman layup with 2:36 remaining. Fernandez poured in 15 points in the final 20 minutes.
The first two quarters featured seven lead changes and three ties. Neither team led by more than three points in a first quarter that ended with the Ephs holding a slim 15-14 advantage.
Williams still held a 19-16 lead three minutes into the second quarter when Hamilton exploded for an 18-4 run that covered the last 6:49 of the second. Halie Serbent '19 kicked things off for the Continentals with a 3-pointer and Gruenberg made two consecutive layups -- the second of which came on a nifty one-handed pass from Serbent as she saved a loose ball from going out-of-bounds.
Caveney pulled the Ephs within one at 23-22 with a jumper and then a free throw. Graber followed with two baskets, Kate Bushell '17 made a driving layup and Getman canned a pair of free throws. Fernandez made the first of two free throws, missed the second and Caroline Barrett '17 grabbed the rebound. Barrett eventually drained a 3-pointer with 22 seconds to go and Hamilton had its largest lead of the night at 34-23. Graber finished the opening 20 minutes with 12 points. Williams' last field goal in the second quarter came with 4:48 left.
The Continentals host Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences on Sunday, Jan. 24, at 2 p.m. The Ephs return home to take on Middlebury College for a NESCAC game on Sunday at 3.
