CLINTON, N.Y. – Hamilton College's
Taylor Lambo '26 registered a double-double with 22 points and 15 rebounds in the Continentals' 64-45 NESCAC win over the Middlebury College Panthers in the regular season finale on Hamilton's Coach Tom Murphy Court inside Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Saturday, Feb. 14. Lambo has 877 rebounds as a Continental, passing Pumla Sathula '08 for first in program history.
Season Update
- Hamilton (12-12, 4-6 NESCAC) bounced back from a 73-63 defeat against Williams College on Feb. 13. The Continentals clinched a spot in the NESCAC Championship quarterfinals with the win.
- Middlebury (12-12, 3-7) lost four of its last five conference games and missed out on the postseason.
How It Happened
- Hamilton built an 11-1 lead 4:30 into the first quarter with the help of eight points by Lambo. Althea Hill '26 caught a long pass from Kendall Harris '26, drove baseline and converted a reverse layup with 2:06 left that made it 17-6. Middlebury scored the final four points of the first and cut its deficit to 17-10 after 10 minutes.
- Hamilton limited the Panthers to 3-of-16 shooting from the field, including 0-of-4 from 3-point range, in the second quarter.
- A layup by Middlebury's Catherine Carrafiello with 2:22 left in the second made it 23-17 in favor of Hamilton. The Continentals closed the half with a 7-1 spurt for a 30-18 lead at the break. Hannah Bernstein '28 rattled home a 3 from the left wing with 1:49 left before Hill finished a layup in the paint at the 1:32 mark and banked in a floater on the fast break less than 30 seconds later.
- Hamilton led by double digits throughout the second half. Following a free throw by Middlebury's Islay Moore that made it 34-23 with 7:42 left in the third quarter, Hamilton went on a 17-2 run over the next 6:35 of game action for a 51-25 lead with 1:07 remaining. Hamilton received 3-pointers from Bernstein and Maggie Kernodle '29, as well as six points by Lambo, during the stretch.
- Middlebury's Sarah Chenette sank a jumper with 54 seconds left that stopped the run. Bernstein drained her third triple with 37 seconds left and the Continentals carried a 54-27 lead into the fourth quarter.
- The Panthers scored seven of the first nine points in the fourth, including a layup and a 3-pointer by Molly Keaveney, and cut their deficit to 56-34 with 7:50 left.
- Following two free throws by Kernodle with 6:42 left, Keaveney knocked down another triple that keyed a 7-0 burst for the Panthers and cut the Hamilton lead to 58-41 with 4:59 remaining. Following a timeout, Lambo scored in the paint on back-to-back possessions, and Bernstein added two free throws with 3:20 left that extended Hamilton's lead to 23 points at 64-41.
- Middlebury scored the final four points on a jumper by Amanda Hill and two free throws by Chenette.
Notes
- Lambo registered her fourth 20-point game and her 10th double-double of the season, and set a new season high in rebounds. The three-time all-NESCAC honoree ranks fourth in program history with 1,357 career points.
- Harris and Bernstein added 11 points apiece. Harris also pulled down eight rebounds.
- Kernodle and Hill chipped in seven and six points, respectively.
- Moore led Middlebury in scoring with nine points. Keaveney added eight points and Emma Kirck pulled down a team-high six rebounds and distributed three assists.
- Hamilton recorded its first win against Middlebury since January 2017. The Panthers had won the previous eight meetings.
Next Game
The quarterfinals of the NESCAC championship take place on Saturday, Feb. 21. The Continentals find out their seed and opponent following the final day of the regular season on Sunday, Feb. 15.
