Hamilton College's Samantha Srinivasan '18 scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Continentals posted a 62-53 NESCAC win against the Bates College Bobcats at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Friday night.

Srinivasan drained three 3-pointers and was 5 of 6 from the floor. The Continentals (14-7, 2-5 NESCAC) held a 35-27 advantage on the glass and outscored Bates 30-12 in the paint.

Hamilton's Marie Steiner '20 scored seven of her 12 points in the pivotal fourth quarter. Halie Serbent '19 chipped in 11 points and nine boards, Carly O'Hern '20 dropped in 10 points in 16 minutes off the bench, and Mackenzie Aldridge '20 handed out five assists. Six of Serbent's nine rebounds were on the offensive glass.

Taylor McVeigh paced the Bobcats (7-15, 1-7) with 15 points and six rebounds off the bench. Melanie Binkhorst scored 11 points and dished out four assists, and reserve Carly Christofi added 11 points. NESCAC leading scorer Nina Davenport was limited to five points and finished 0 of 6 from the field. Bates shot just 31.3 percent (15-48) but stayed in the game by going 18-for-21 (85.7 percent) at the free-throw line.

The contest was close throughout as there were nine ties and eight lead changes, and neither team held a double-digit lead. The score was tied at 42-42 after three quarters and Julia Middlebrook gave the Bobcats their last lead at 45-44 with 7:32 left in the fourth when she went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe.

The Continentals took the lead for good with a 10-2 run that covered the next five minutes. Srinivasan started the spurt with a free throw and Mia Caterisano '19 put Hamilton ahead to stay on a layup with 5:52 remaining. Serbent scored in the paint before McVeigh's layup cut the Continentals' lead back to two points at 49-47. Srinivasan nailed a shot from beyond the arc on the next possession and a driving layup by Steiner gave Hamilton a 54-47 cushion with 2:27 to go.

Binkhorst nearly willed Bates to victory by herself as she scored the Bobcats' next six points and sliced their deficit to three at 56-53 on two free throws with 37 seconds left. O'Hern found Steiner for a 3-pointer that put the Continentals back up by six with 18 seconds remaining and, after Bates missed a shot from long range, Hamilton clinched the win by making three free throws in the final 9.8 seconds.

The Continentals scored six straight points late in the first quarter and grabbed a 13-7 lead on a jumper by Getman and four points by O'Hern. Hamilton led 13-9 after one and 20-14 midway through the second quarter. The Bobcats responded with an 8-1 run that featured a pair of 3-pointers by Christofi -- the second of which put Bates up 22-21 with just under a minute to go. Getman put the Continentals back in front with a layup and Camille Walter '20 just barely beat the halftime buzzer with a trifecta that made it 26-22 at the break. Aldridge made the pass to Walter after rushing the ball up the length of the court.

Hamilton still led 32-29 midway through the third quarter after a basket from close range by O'Hern. The Bobcats then scored the next nine points and grabbed their largest lead of the night. McVeigh kicked things off with a pair of free throws, Middlebrook canned a 3-pointer, McVeigh knocked in a jumper, and a layup by Christofi made it 38-32 with 3:31 left. Middlebrook scored eight of her nine points in the third quarter.

The Continentals scored 10 points in the final 3:15 of the third and rallied to tie the score by the end of the quarter. Srinivasan made a 3-pointer, O'Hern followed with a pair of buckets, and Serbent's old-fashioned 3-point play with 13 seconds remaining made it 42-42.

Hamilton hosts nationally ranked No. 7/9 Tufts University on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. in the final home game of the season for the Continentals.