SUNY Cortland took the lead for good with a 9-0 run in the first quarter and went on to a 53-39 non-conference win against the Hamilton College Continentals at Cortland's Corey Gym on Tuesday evening.

Hamilton helped force 25 turnovers but dropped to 2-3 overall. The Continentals shot 21.9 percent from the floor including 0 of 12 from 3-point range. Hamilton doesn't return to the court until Thursday, Dec. 2 when the Continentals host Hartwick College for another non-conference game at 5:30 p.m.

The Red Dragons owned a 51-39 advantage on the glass, blocked eight shots and received 29 points from their bench. Cortland, which is a member of the SUNYAC, improved to 3-2 overall.

Kelcie Zarle '22 paced Hamilton with 15 points and Claire Sehring '22 chipped in 10. Emma Sehring '23 grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Corinne Miedreich led the Red Dragons with 13 points off the bench and Maggie Malone scored all 10 of her points in the first half. Casey Travers contributed eight points, three steals and two blocked shots. Sarah Tully pulled down a game-high nine boards.

The Continentals led 4-2 on four points by Claire Sehring 1:17 into the first quarter. Cortland scored the next nine points for an 11-4 advantage with 4:39 left. The Red Dragons held an 18-9 lead after the opening 10 minutes.

Cortland posted its first double-digit lead at 22-11 on an offensive rebound and putback by Tully with 8:53 remaining in the second quarter. Hamilton responded with six straight points on two layups by Maria Mercado Rengel '24 and a jumper by Zarle and pulled within five at 22-17 with 7:21 to go.

The Continentals didn't get any closer as the Red Dragons ran off the next 13 points and took their largest lead of the night of 18 at 35-17 with 3:23 left. Cortland led 37-22 at the break and 47-31 after three quarters. The Red Dragons led by double digits the entire second half.