Hamilton College's Courtney Shay '24 scored a career-high 18 points and the Continentals pulled away late for a 63-48 non-conference win against the SUNY Polytechnic Wildcats at SUNY Poly's Campus Center Gym on Wednesday evening.
 
Season Update
Hamilton improved to 6-1 with its fourth straight win. The Wildcats, who are members of the North Atlantic Conference, dropped to 4-4 overall.
 
How It Happened

• The Continentals went on a 15-1 run that spanned the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, and turned a six-point deficit into an eight-point advantage.
• SUNY Poly converted a layup on a fast break and called a timeout with a 37-31 lead and 3:05 remaining in the third. The break was just what Hamilton needed.
• Emma Sehring '23 started the spurt with a layup off a nice feed from Abigael Morin '25. On the Continentals' next possession, Sehring grabbed an offensive rebound and made the putback. Morin tied the score with a jumper from the right corner, and Sehring put Hamilton in the lead for good with a jumper that finished off a fast break. Taylor Lambo '26 gave the Continentals a 41-37 edge with 1.1 seconds left when she made two free throws after she pulled down an offensive board and was fouled.
• The Wildcats' Lyrik Jackson scored the first point of the fourth quarter with a free throw, but Lambo converted an old-fashioned three-point play for a 44-38 lead. Shay capped the run with two free throws and Hamilton had its largest lead so far at eight points two minutes into the fourth.
• SUNY Poly didn't get closer than six points the rest of the way. The Continentals took their first double-digit lead with six minutes to go on an offensive rebound and layup by Lambo that made it 52-41. Hamilton's largest lead was 18 points at 63-45 on a free throw by Shay with 1:24 left.
• The Wildcats started off hot and led by nine points three times in the first quarter. The Continentals trailed 17-8 with three minutes remaining, but finished the quarter on a 9-2 run that was capped by a Lambo layup that beat the buzzer and pulled Hamilton within 19-17.
• The teams combined to make just six shots in the second quarter as neither led by more than three points. The Continentals took a 26-25 edge into the locker room.
• Shay swished a shot from beyond the arc 1:18 into the third quarter for a 29-27 Hamilton lead. SUNY Poly put together a 10-2 spurt during the next 5:40 and built a 37-31 advantage.

 
Notes

• Shay drained three of the Continentals' four 3-pointers.
• Lambo recorded her second straight double-double with 13 points and a season-high 13 boards, including seven on the offensive glass.
• Althea Hill '26 dropped in 11 points and Sehring added 10.
• Emily Hall '24 stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, a career-best 15 rebounds, seven assists, two blocked shots and two steals. Hall leads the NESCAC with 5.3 assists per game.
• Hamilton held a 19-8 advantage in second-chance points.
• Morin's basket in the third quarter represented the only points by a reserve for either team.
• Molly Burdick paced the Wildcats with 23 points, 14 rebounds and three steals.
• Jackson registered 11 points and Kierra Connor had 10.
• Lauren Denny handed out six assists.
• The Continentals have won six in a row against SUNY Poly.

 
Next Game
Hamilton plays Rochester Institute of Technology in the Baldwin Wallace University Invitational on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 7 p.m.