Holly Erick scored a career-high 26 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to lead Hamilton College to an impressive 70-67 win against St. Lawrence University in an Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association women's basketball game at Scott Field House on Jan. 31.
Erick shot 8-for-14 from the field and 10-for-11 from the free throw line. She also blocked two shots. Jessica Gorman added nine points and four assists for the Continentals (3-4 UCAA, 9-6 overall). Kim Beevers scored eight points and pulled down a career-best 11 boards. Missy Nelson chipped in seven points, six assists and three steals. Hamilton snapped a 12-game losing streak against St. Lawrence that dated back to the 1997-98 season.
Aliza Bogdanich led four Saints (5-2, 12-4) in double figures with 15 points despite playing just 21 minutes due to foul trouble. Bogdanich made 5 of 7 three-point attempts. Andrea Muszynski scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench. Meredith Pridgen also scored 11 points and Lauren Foran added 10 points and seven boards.
Hamilton's Larissa Hopkins made her first free throw, but missed the second with 2.2 seconds remaining and the Continentals up by three. Bogdanich came down with the rebound and passed ahead to Jessica Smith. Smith heaved a shot from past mid-court that banked off the backboard and in, but the officials ruled the shot had been released after the buzzer.
Hamilton led just 26-25 at the half, but came flying out of the locker room on a 15-3 run to take a 41-28 lead with 15:40 remaining. Erick scored nine points during the run. The Continentals kept the double-digit advantage until Bogdanich drained a three-pointer to make it 57-48 with 7:45 left.
St. Lawrence slowly clawed its way back into the game and trailed 69-67 after Brittany Gaetano made one of three free throws after she was fouled while attempting a three-point shot with seven seconds left.
Hamilton will host Middlebury College in a non-conference game on Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.
