Hamilton College rallied from a 16-point deficit and edged the Wesleyan University Cardinals 48-46 in NESCAC action at Wesleyan's Silloway Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

The Continentals (6-5, 1-1 NESCAC) trailed 36-20 less than one minute into the third quarter but their defense allowed just three baskets the rest of the way and Hamilton posted the comeback victory. The Cardinals (5-7, 0-2) dropped their third straight game.

Carly O'Hern '20 led the Continentals and tied a season high with 11 points off the bench. Hamilton finished with a 22-9 advantage in bench points. Samantha Srinivasan '18 scored eight points, Halie Serbent '19 tied a career best with 10 rebounds and Rylie Mainville '18 blocked four shots.

Tara Berger paced Wesleyan with 16 points and Olivia Gorman chipped in 11 and four steals. Chynna Bailey grabbed eight boards. The Cardinals shot 23.8 percent from the floor, including 4 of 27 from beyond the arc.

Kendall Rallins '19 put the Continentals in front to stay at 43-42 on two free throws with 5:30 left. After two missed shots and two turnovers by Wesleyan, Srinivasan buried a 3-pointer for a 46-42 advantage with 3:43 remaining. A free throw by Berger cut the Cardinals' deficit to three with 54 seconds to go and ended Wesleyan's scoreless drought at seven minutes.

Caroline Barrett '17 came down on the next possession and made a layup that pushed Hamilton's lead to five at 48-43 with 33 seconds left. Maeve Vitale drilled a shot from beyond the arc and pulled the Cardinals within two with 24 seconds remaining. The Continentals missed four free throws in the final seconds but Wesleyan didn't convert on two opportunities from close range, and when Srinivasan secured a defensive rebound with two seconds left, the game was over.

A 3-pointer by Gorman provided the Cardinals with a 16-point lead just 58 seconds into the third quarter. Hamilton responded with a 13-0 run that put the Continentals back in the game. Srinivasan scored three points and O'Hern had the next six on a 3-pointer and a 3-point play. Back-to-back layups by Marie Steiner '20 made it 36-33 with 3:58 to go. After a Wesleyan basket pushed the Cardinals' lead back to five, Barrett made a layup and Serbent sank a free throw in the last 45 seconds, and Hamilton trailed 38-36 after three quarters.

The Continentals led once in the first half at 2-0. Wesleyan owned a 16-9 cushion after one quarter and took a 32-20 advantage into the break.

Hamilton travels to SUNY Cobleskill for a non-conference contest on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m.