After starting the season 2-0, the Oswego State women’s basketball team continued where it left off in the Max Ziel Tournament this past weekend, taking down Hamilton College, 76-72, on Wednesday.

Hamilton College would prove to be a much tougher opponent though, especially with the loss of Oswego State freshman backup point guard Mary Mazzella.

Head coach Tracy Bruno said that Mazzella suffered a shoulder injury during Monday’s practice. Bruno said the upside is that it does not look like it will be a time-consuming injury and that Mazzella will be back soon.

For the players that were on the court during Wednesday night’s game, the road to victory was much more of a challenge with the size and shooting ability of Hamilton.

The game went down to the wire, with the Lakers only leading by one with under a minute left after a clutch layup from junior guard/forward Heather Hebert.  Hebert put on a strong performance overall, narrowly missing a double-double with 20 points and nine rebounds.

Senior guard Lauren Nunziato hit a couple of free throws to put the Lakers up three heading into Hamilton’s final possession of the game.

Hamilton missed a three-point shot, and Oswego State senior forward Paula Egleston came down with the rebound. Hamilton fouled Egleston, who made one of two free throws to secure the lead with only a second left on the clock.

The Lakers’ defense intensity struggled for most of the time, but they were able to put on the pressure when it counted, as the players defended well late.

“We pride ourselves on defense,” Bruno said.  “We talked about after the game that when it’s a three point game, that’s why we defend, so that you know when you step out on the floor that you can get a stop.”

Oswego State senior guard Jenn Robbins tied for the game high in points, racking up 21.