Hamilton College's Kelcie Zarle '22 dropped in 23 points and made a season-high five steals in the Continentals' 65-52 non-conference win against the William Smith College Herons at William Smith's Bristol Gym on Thursday afternoon.

Hamilton improved to 6-3 overall with its fourth straight win. The Continentals take on local rival Utica College in another non-conference road contest on Monday, Jan. 3 at 4 p.m.

The Herons lost their fourth consecutive game and dropped to 2-6. William Smith owned a 51-42 advantage on the glass thanks to 16 offensive rebounds, but committed 25 turnovers.

Zarle leads the NESCAC in scoring with 22.0 points per game. Maria Mercado Rengel '24 contributed 16 points and six boards, Emily Hall '24 handed out five assists and pulled down six rebounds, and Emma Sehring '23 dished out four assists and collected six boards. Katie Hansen '24 blocked three shots.

Brooke Jarvis paced the Herons with 18 points and Christina Mitrow was credited with four assists. Olivia Parisi and Lauren DeVaney posted double-doubles as William Smith boasted strong post play. Parisi finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds while DeVaney added 10 points, 15 boards and three blocked shots. The Herons shot just 27 percent from the floor including 1 of 14 from 3-point range.

Hamilton took the lead for good with an 8-0 run that started late in the second quarter and ended early in the third. Zarle kicked off the spurt with a jumper and drained a trifecta that put the Continentals up 29-27 with 1:34 left in the first half. Hamilton went into the break with that two-point advantage. Claire Sehring '22 opened the third quarter with a layup and Emma Sehring made it 32-27 on a free throw with 8:50 remaining. William Smith didn't get closer than three points the rest of the way.

The Continentals, who were 8 of 16 from the field in the third, took their first double-digit lead on a 3-pointer by Zarle that made it 44-33 with 2:16 to go. A jumper by Mercado Rengel with 31 seconds left began another 8-0 run that carried into the fourth quarter. Hamilton held a 49-37 advantage after three before a layup by Emma Sehring and two fast-break buckets by Zarle gave the Continentals their largest lead of 18 points at 55-37 with 8:42 remaining. Hamilton maintained its double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.

Neither team led by more than five points in a first quarter that ended with the Herons on top, 21-17. William Smith made eight field goals in the opening 10 minutes but just nine during the last 30.

A free throw by Jarvis gave the Herons their largest lead of seven points at 24-17 with 8:11 to go in the second quarter. The Continentals responded with seven straight on a 3-pointer and a driving layup by Mercado Rengel and a basket in the paint by Zarle that made it 24-24 with 7:02 left. The teams combined to make just three field goals the rest of the quarter.