Williams College went on an 11-2 run early in the fourth quarter and the Ephs held on for a 69-61 NESCAC win against the Hamilton College Continentals at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Friday night.

The Continentals' conference game with Middlebury College scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 8 was postponed. Hamilton, which led by as many as 15 points midway through the second quarter, dropped to 6-5 overall and 0-1 in the NESCAC.

Williams improved to 6-6 overall and 1-0 in the conference. The Ephs allowed just four points in the second quarter, and the largest lead by either team in the second half was the final eight-point margin.

Kelcie Zarle '22, who leads the NESCAC with 20.8 points per game, paced the Continentals with 23. Maria Mercado Rengel '24 was 4 of 7 from 3-point range and finished with 16 points. She also handed out a season-high six assists. Claire Sehring '22 dropped in 10 points, Olivia Davis '23 had three of the team's four steals, and Emma Sehring '23 was a basket short of a double-double with eight points and a career-best 11 rebounds.

Maddy Mandyck's double-double helped lead Williams as she finished with 10 points and 19 boards and also blocked five shots. Mia Holtze scored a team-high 12 points in 19 minutes off the bench, and starters Maggie Meehan and Ryann Taylor added 11 apiece. Arianna Gerig and Devin Biesbrock dished out five assists apiece.

The score was tied at 46-46 after three quarters. Claire Sehring's layup put Hamilton in front for the last time just a few seconds into the fourth quarter. Holtze countered with a free throw, a jumper and a 3-pointer. After a jumper in the paint by Claire Sehring pulled the Continentals within two points at 52-50, Holtze drained another shot from beyond the arc and Meehan made a basket for a 57-50 advantage with 4:43 left.

Zarle cut Hamilton's deficit to two with five straight points and a 3-pointer by Mercado Rengel made it 59-58 with 2:12 remaining. Two straight baskets by Gerig pushed the Ephs' lead back to five points before a 3-pointer by Zarle from the right wing closed the Continentals to within 63-61 with 18.3 seconds to go. Taylor went 6-for-6 at the free-throw line in the last 16.9 seconds and clinched the win.

Hamilton was 13 of 23 from the floor in the first quarter and 13 of 50 the rest of the way. The Continentals scored the first four points and led the entire opening 10 minutes. A 3-pointer by Mercado Rengel gave Hamilton its first double-digit lead at 17-7 midway through the first, and Zarle made it 25-12 on another shot from distance with 2:40 left. The Continentals led 29-17 after one.

Claire Sehring's layup on a feed from Zarle gave Hamilton its largest lead of 15 points at 33-18 with 6:15 remaining in the second quarter. Williams responded with a 13-0 run over the last six minutes of the quarter and the Ephs trailed by just two points at 33-31 at the break.