WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Hamilton College scored the first seven points of the second overtime and the Continentals pulled out an 80-70 victory against the Oberlin College Yeowomen in the 2024 Smokey Ballenger Classic inside Otterbein University's Rike Center on Sunday afternoon, Dec. 29.
 

Season Update

• Hamilton (8-2 overall), which was playing for the first time in 15 days, won for the sixth time in its last seven games.
• Oberlin (7-4) had won its previous five games. The Yeowomen are 1-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference.

 

How It Happened

• Tessa Cole '25 put the Continentals in front for good at 71-69 on a layup nearly two minutes into the second extra period. Kendall Harris '27 scored the next five points and Hamilton led 76-69 with 1:26 left.
• A free throw by Camille Zinaich with 1:10 remaining was the only point for Oberlin in the second overtime.
• The Continentals' Hannah Bernstein '28 made three free throws and Cole added another in the final minute for the final score.
• Each team scored just four points in the first overtime. Bernstein's fast-break layup drew Hamilton even at 69-69 with 60 seconds to go. Both teams missed a shot down the stretch and the Yeowomen committed a turnover in the final seconds.
• The Continentals opened the fourth quarter with a 6-0 spurt and led 58-51 a little more than two minutes in. Oberlin responded with a 12-4 run and took a 63-62 edge on a Zinaich jumper with 1:47 left for its first lead since the first quarter.
• Taylor Lambo '26 put Hamilton back in front on two free throws with 1:11 remaining, but Angela Kumler made it 65-64 in favor of the Yeowomen with two free throws six seconds later.
• Lambo tied the score with 50 seconds to go when she made the first of her two free throws. Oberlin missed two shots in the last 30 seconds and the teams headed to overtime.
• Neither team led by more than four points in the first quarter. The Continentals owned a 19-17 edge after the first 10 minutes.
• Hamilton led throughout the second quarter including by as much as seven points at 24-17 after a 3-pointer by Bernstein about a minute into the quarter. The Continentals took a 38-34 lead into the locker room.
• Hamilton enjoyed a seven-point cushion twice early in the third quarter, including 43-36 on a Cole layup a little more than two minutes into the quarter. Kumler capped a 10-3 run by the Yeowomen with a layup that tied the score at 46-46 midway through the quarter. Kumler tied the score again at 51-51 on another layup with 29 seconds left.
• Erica Hills '28 drained a free throw with three seconds remaining and the Continentals took a 52-51 edge into the fourth quarter.

 

Notes

• Lambo finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for her sixth double-double in 10 games this season. She grabbed six of Hamilton's 14 offensive boards. Lambo leads the NESCAC with 11.2 rebounds per game.
• Bernstein was one off her season high in points with 16 and handed out four assists.
• Althea Hill '26 chipped in 10 points for her second double-digit game in the last three.
• Harris scored nine points and tied a season high with 13 boards.
• The Continentals made more free throws (20) than Oberlin attempted (17).
• Hamilton boasted a 16-3 advantage in second-chance points.
• The Continentals were 15-of-29 from the floor in the first half.
• Kumler paced the Yeowomen with 20 points.
• Zinaich registered 19 points, 14 boards and three steals.
• Ellie Pollock-Ballard added 14 points and made two of Oberlin's three 3-pointers.
• The Yeowomen were just 2-of-12 from the field during the overtime periods.
• This was the first meeting between the teams.

 

Next Game

Hamilton takes on Albion College (3-8) in the Smokey Ballenger Classic on Monday, Dec. 30 at noon.