CLINTON, N.Y. – Cortland built an 18-point lead in the first quarter and held off a handful of Hamilton rallies and the Red Dragons defeated the host Continentals, 65-56, in women's basketball non-league play.
 
Cortland won its sixth straight game to improve to 6-1 on the season. Hamilton had a five-game winning streak snapped and is now 7-2.
 
Kayla Campbell (Franklin/Franklin Central) led Cortland with 17 points and also finished with seven rebounds and four assists. Brooke Tillotson (Marathon) scored 11 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter and had three assists. Kaeli McAnally (Islip) totaled 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, Joleen Lusk (Cherry Valley/Cherry Valley-Springfield) scored six points and led the Red Dragons with 10 rebounds, all on the defensive glass, and Bella Zingoni (Kings Park/Long Island Lutheran) tallied seven points.
 
Taylor Lambo paced Hamilton with 21 points and nine rebounds. Kendall Harris finished with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks, and Erica Hills grabbed seven rebounds.
 
Cortland led 24-6 with two minutes left in the first quarter and 25-10 at the first intermission. The hosts fought back to within 29-25 in the first seven and a half minutes of the second quarter and were still within four at 31-27 before baskets by Zingoni and McAnally in the final minute gave the Red Dragons a 35-27 halftime lead.
 
The Red Dragons built up another double-digit lead at 49-34 in the first eight-plus minutes of the third quarter and led 49-38 entering the fourth. Hamilton, however, fought back again and trailed by only three, 51-48, after a Lambo layup with 4:51 remaining.
 
TIllotson responded with a 3-pointer to push the lead to six, and following a Hamilton basket she converted a traditional 3-point play to make it 57-50 with 3:12 left. The Continentals scored to cut the Cortland lead to five, but McAnally sealed the win with a 3-pointer from the left corner with just under a minute left.
 
Cortland returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 2, at 3 p.m. at Utica University.