Colby College used a big third quarter to break open a close game and the Mules went on to a 61-52 NESCAC win against the Hamilton College Continentals at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Saturday afternoon.

The Continentals (13-7, 1-5 NESCAC) received a career-high 25 points from Halie Serbent '19 in the losing effort. Serbent was 10 of 15 from the field with two 3-pointers and went 3-for-4 at the free-throw line. She leads the team with 13.3 points per game in conference play. Serbent made a rare appearance off the bench but still played 33 minutes as Hamilton started its three seniors in honor of Senior Day.

Lauren Getman '18 was one of those three seniors and she celebrated by posting her 12th career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Samantha Srinivasan '18 and Rylie Mainville '18 are the other seniors.

Colby (8-10, 2-4) scored 21 points, including 12 on four 3-pointers, in the third quarter alone. Katie McCrum nailed a trio of shots from beyond the arc and scored nine of her 14 points in the third. Haley Driscoll also scored 14 points, Paige Russell chipped in 12 and seven boards, and Sarah Hancock dished out six assists. Jackie Albanese scored 11 points off the bench as she was 3 of 5 from downtown. The Mules were 7 of 16 as a team from long range while the Continentals made just 2 of 13 shots from downtown.

Hamilton trailed 30-28 at the break but Marie Steiner '20 drew the Continentals even with a layup 37 seconds into the second half. Colby responded by scoring the next seven points and led the rest of the way. Driscoll started the run with a basket in the paint, Russell grabbed an offensive rebound and made the layup, and McCrum drained a 3-pointer for a 37-30 advantage with 7:03 left in the third.

Hamilton didn't get closer than five points the rest of the day. A trifecta by Albanese gave the Mules their largest lead of 11 points at 47-36 with 3:55 remaining in the quarter. Colby went into the final 10 minutes with a 51-41 cushion.

The Mules still led by 10 at 55-45 after two free throws by Driscoll with 5:22 to go in the fourth. The Continentals clawed back to within five points thanks to an old-fashioned 3-point play by Getman and a Serbent jumper that made it 55-50 with 4:33 left. Hamilton only mustered a Carly O'Hern '20 jumper -- with 55 seconds left -- down the stretch as the Continentals were 1 of 8 from the field with two turnovers in the final four minutes.

Neither team led by more than eight points in the first half as there were five ties and five lead changes. Hamilton led 11-7 after a Getman jumper with 2:41 remaining in the first quarter but Colby scored the last five points of the first and the first seven points of the second quarter for a 19-11 advantage. Albanese started the spurt with a 3-pointer and Hancock made it 12-11 with a pair of free throws. Driscoll opened the second quarter with two more points at the charity stripe and added a layup, and Grace Coutu completed a 3-point play for the eight-point lead with 7:51 to go.

The Continentals were able to rally behind Serbent as she scored 13 points in the final six minutes of the second quarter. Her layup with 2:03 left in the half gave Hamilton its last lead at 28-26. Albanese and McCrum closed out the quarter with one basket apiece for the Mules.

The Continentals play another NESCAC game at home on Friday, Feb. 2 when Bates College visits Scott Field House at 7 p.m.