Hamilton College's Emily Hall '24 finished one rebound short of a triple-double and the Continentals knocked off nationally ranked No. 17/22 St. John Fisher College 70-64 in non-conference action at the Cardinals' Manning & Napier Gym on Tuesday.
 
Season Update
Hamilton improved its overall record to 3-1. St. John Fisher, which plays in the Empire 8 Conference and went 26-3 last season, dropped to 4-2.
 
How It Happened

• The Continentals trailed 50-47 after three quarters and by seven points at 54-47 after a free throw by Kaitlyn Walker with 7:50 left in the fourth.
• Hamilton briefly took the lead with an 8-0 run. Maria Mercado Rengel '24 drained a 3-pointer, Althea Hill '26 canned another shot from beyond the arc, and a layup by Hall made it 55-54 with 4:25 remaining.
• The Cardinals answered with a 3-pointer by Claire Kruszka on their next possession before Hall passed to Hill for a layup that tied the score at 57-57 with 3:51 to go.
• Two free throws by Lauren Nawojski put St. John Fisher in front for the last time with 3:33 left.
• The Continentals went on an 11-2 spurt that all but clinched the victory for the visitors. Emma Sehring '23 tied the score with a layup and then stole the ball that started a fast-break opportunity. Hall found Hill for a 3-pointer and Hamilton had the lead for good at 62-59 with 2:39 remaining.
• After a steal by Courtney Shay '24 and a timeout by the Continentals, Sehring nailed a jumper for a five-point advantage. The Cardinals stopped the bleeding momentarily with a layup by Katie Moravec.
• Sehring restored the five-point cushion at 66-61 on a layup with 1:17 to go. Hall grabbed a rebound off a St. John Fisher miss and was fouled and made both free throws for a 68-61 lead with 48 seconds left.
• Emilia Johnson gave the Cardinals some life by burying a 3-pointer with 36 seconds remaining, but Hamilton made two free throws in the final 30 seconds, and St. John Fisher came up empty on its next two possessions.
• The Cardinals led by as many as five points twice in the first quarter and owned a 20-15 edge after 10 minutes.
• St. John Fisher took its largest lead of the first half at 24-18 in the first minute of the second quarter. The Continentals answered with a 9-2 run and grabbed a 27-26 edge midway through the quarter. The Cardinals went into the break with a 34-33 lead.
• St. John Fisher's five-point lead of 50-45 in the final minute of the third was the largest for either team in the quarter.

 
Notes

• Hamilton was 8 of 10 from the field and helped force five Cardinal turnovers by making four steals in the fourth quarter. Hill led the Continentals with eight points in the quarter, and they scored 23 as a team.
• Hall scored 14 points, handed out a team-record 12 assists and grabbed nine rebounds. She was a perfect 5 of 5 from the field and had three of Hamilton's nine steals.
• Hill was 4 of 8 from 3-point range and ended up with 14 points.
• Sehring contributed 14 points.
• Mercado Rengel dropped in nine points in just 10 minutes off the bench.
• Taylor Lambo '26 scored seven of her nine points in the first quarter.
• Hamilton owned a 36-24 advantage in points in the paint.
• The Continentals shot 51.9 percent (28-54) from the floor.
• Moravec paced St. John Fisher with 16 points and three steals.
• Kruszka led the effort off the bench with 11 points and six assists.
• Johnson and Nawojski scored 10 points apiece.
• Walker added nine points, seven boards and three blocked shots.
• The Cardinals are ranked 17th in the D3hoops.com Top 25 preseason poll and 22nd in this week's Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 poll.

 
Next Game
Hamilton hosts William Smith College for another non-conference contest on Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m.