CLINTON, N.Y. – Hamilton College's Taylor Lambo '26 and Abbey Schwoebel '27 tallied 14 points apiece and the Continentals registered a 63-49 NESCAC win over the Wesleyan University Cardinals on Hamilton's Coach Tom Murphy Court inside Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Friday evening, Jan. 16.

Season Update

• The Continentals (9-7, 1-1 NESCAC) dropped their NESCAC opener at #12/#13 Bates College on Jan. 11. Hamilton improved to 6-0 at home.
• Wesleyan (6-9, 1-2) was coming off a conference win at home over Middlebury College on Jan. 10.

How It Happened

• Hamilton's defensive pressure forced the Cardinals into just 2-of-14 shooting during the opening 10 minutes.
• After a free throw by Wesleyan's Ali Murphy with 4:50 left trimmed Wesleyan's deficit to 8-6, Hamilton went on an 8-0 run and built a 16-6 lead with less than one minute to play. Annabelle Semeter '28 scored the final two baskets during the run. The sophomore guard drove to the basket and finished a contested layup at the 2:11 mark, then accepted a pass from Schwoebel on a backdoor cut and converted a layup from the left block with 41 seconds left. Murphy sank another free throw with 24 seconds remaining and made it 16-7 after 10 minutes.
• Hamilton went on a 12-0 run over the first 4:38 of the second quarter and built a 28-7 lead. Kendall Harris '27 scored nine points during the run, including a fast-break 3-pointer from the left wing that forced a Wesleyan timeout with 6:12 remaining.
• Hamilton established its largest lead of 23 points at 31-8 with 4:59 remaining following a 3-pointer by Althea Hill '26.
• Wesleyan responded with an 8-0 burst that trimmed its deficit to 15. Schwoebel stopped the run with a step-back jumper near the left elbow at the 1:56 mark and sank two free throws with 1:05 left as the Continentals carried a 35-16 advantage into halftime.
• Wesleyan shot 4-of-4 from 3-point range in the third quarter and outscored Hamilton 17-14. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Meghan Kirck cut Wesleyan's deficit to 37-24 with 6:27 remaining. Following a timeout, Hamilton used a 6-1 burst and pushed the lead back to 18 with 3:30 left.
• Schwoebel scored Hamilton's final six points of the quarter and gave the Continentals a 49-33 lead heading into the fourth.
• Hill knocked down a triple on Hamilton's first possession, and the Continentals extended their lead to 56-36 with 6:50 left after Harris dropped off a pass to Lambo for a layup. A layup by Semeter with 1:56 remaining made it 63-42 before Wesleyan closed the contest with seven straight points.

 

Notes

• Schwoebel set a career high in points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and added a career-high six free throws off the bench. She also grabbed a season-high seven rebounds.
• Lambo grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds and recorded her sixth double-double in the last seven games.
• Harris provided 13 points and has scored in double figures in each of her last nine games.
• Hill dropped in 10 points and Semeter came up with a career-high four steals.
• Hamilton shot 10-for-15 at the free-throw line compared to 10-for-23 for the Cardinals.
• The Continentals limited Wesleyan to 17-of-57 (.298) shooting from the field, marking the third-lowest shooting percentage for an opponent this season. Hamilton also held its opponent to under 50 points for the second time.
• Kirck led Wesleyan with 13 points and Alli Jones recorded a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
• Hamilton has won its first six home games for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

Next Game

Hamilton remains home to host #23/RV Trinity College (12-5, 1-2) on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 3 p.m.