BABSON PARK, Mass.— Senior Megan Bauman (East Lyme, Conn.) and sophomore Katelyn Mollica (Foxborough, Mass.) combined for 33 points, including 23 in the pivotal fourth quarter as No. 11/12 Babson College rallied from six points down to defeat Hamilton College, 71-64, in non-conference women's basketball action Monday evening inside Staake Gymnasium.

With the win, Babson earned its sixth consecutive victory to improve to 13-1 on the year, while Hamilton had a two-game win streak snapped and slid to 9-7 overall.

Bauman finished with team-highs of 17 points and seven assists for the Beavers, converting 11-of-12 free throws, while Mollica added 16 points, including a pair of three-pointers, to score in double figures for the fourth straight game. Junior Kelly Walsh (Goffstown, N.H.) contributed 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals, classmate Rachel McMenemy (Northborough, Mass.) added eight points on 4-of-6 shooting and seven rebounds, and senior Samantha Smith (Greenfield, Mass.) chipped in with eight points and three blocked shots in the victory.

Junior Emily Hall (Phoenix, N.Y.) led the visitors with 17 points along with seven rebounds while senior Emma Sehring (Sauquoit, N.Y.) recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. First-year Taylor Lambo (Watertown, Mass.) was good for 11 points and five boards and junior Maria Mercado Rengel (Dedham, Mass.) added eight points in the loss.

Babson led the entire first half, holding an eight-point margin (20-12) after one quarter and maintaining a four-point margin at the intermission. The momentum shifted in the third quarter when Hamilton came alive, shooting 66.7 percent from the field and draining 4-of-5 from 3-point range while the Beavers were held to 31 percent shooting and 0-for-3 from deep.

McMenemy hit the first bucket of the third to put the hosts up 31-25, but Hamilton ran off the next 10 points, including three-pointers by Hall and Rengel, to take its first lead of the night. A Walsh layup and a pair of Bauman free throws for Babson tied the score at 35-all with 4:35 to go in the frame. Sehring and Babson junior Madison Odam (San Jose, Calif.) traded jumpers and then Sehring and Smith exchanged three-point plays to tie it again at 40-all with 2:43 on the clock. First-year Althea Hill (Los Angeles, Calif.) drained a pair of 3-pointers as the Continentals took a 46-42 lead into the fourth quarter.

After a pair of free throws from Lambo pushed the Hamilton lead to six, Mollica, sophomore Camilla Silk (Medfield, Mass.) and McMenemy hit buckets for Babson to tie the score at 48-all. After a 50-50 deadlock, Babson scored seven unanswered points, ignited by a Mollica 3-pointer, to take the lead for good, 57-50. The Continentals got as close as three points (57-54) after a pair of Lambo free throws with 2:50 remaining, but another Mollica longball snuffed out any momentum for the visitors.

Junior Courtney Shay (Londonderry, N.H.) and Rengel made 3-pointers in the final minute for Hamilton in a last gasp comeback attempt, but Bauman and Mollica combined to go 9-for-9 at the free throw line to seal the win.

Babson shot 39.7 percent from the field and hit 17-of-20 from the charity stripe (85 percent) while Hamilton converted 37.1 of its shots, including 31.8 percent from beyond the arc, and had a 42-38 advantage on the glass.

The Beavers continue a five-game homestand with the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opener on Wednesday when they host Clark at 7 p.m. Hamilton resumes New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) action on Saturday at 3 p.m. at No. 16 Amherst.

GAME NOTES
• Monday's game was the first career meeting between Babson and Hamilton.
• The Beavers are 4-0 this season against schools from the NESCAC with previous wins over Williams, Middlebury and Tufts.
• Babson is 6-0 inside Staake Gymnasium this winter and has gone 24-3 at home since the start of the 2020-21 campaign.
• Bauman has tied Maura Fleming '96 for third on Babson's all-time list with 344 assists and needs 10 to catch Michele Cote '94 for second and 32 to equal Giovanna Pickering '17 for the top spot. Bauman also needs just 12 points to become the 18th player in program history to score 1000 points.
• Smith's three blocked shots moved her into eighth place on the Babson career list with 84 rejections.