CLINTON, N.Y. -- The 22nd-ranked Amherst College women's basketball team fell victim to a fourth-quarter comeback from the Hamilton College Continentals Saturday afternoon, falling 53-49 i NESCAC action in the Margaret Bundy Scott Field House. 

Amherst lost its third straight game and fell to 13-4 overall, 2-3 in conference play. Hamilton  improved to 14-5 this season,2-3 in NESCAC play. The Mammoths are in action Monday afternoon when they welcome Lehman College to LeFrak for a 4 p.m. tip-off.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* The game got off to a fantastic start as Kori Barach had two quick lay-up, one set up by a Laura Mendell steal, to put Amherst up 4-0. The Mammoths' defense was stingy at the start as Hamilton went 0 for 15 from the floor for the entire quarter. The Mammoths led by nine at the end of one, 14-5. 

* A Barach three-pointer with 1:49 remaining in the second quarter help Amherst maintain the lead. They went into the locker room up four, 19-15, at the half. 

* Hamilton took a slim 23-22 lead early in the third, but a Sylvia Liddle jumper with 7:12 to go put Amherst back up 24-23. Barach then knocked down a long jumper to snap a 23-23 tie and followed up with another trey for a 28-23 Amherst lead. A pair of Barach free throws with 19 seconds remaining in the third made it 36-33 Amherst heading into the fourth quarter. 

* Barach then opened the fourth-quarter scoring 14 seconds in with another trey and a six-point lead. A Liddle jumper followed a minute later by an Anna Tranum jumper made it 43-37. Tranum hit one of two free throws with 6:27 to go in the game for a 44-37 lead. With 5:21 to go, Mendell took advantage of an Alix Stuart offensive rebound by draining a three-pointer for a 47-39 Amherst lead. 

* Hamilton then fashioned a game-clinching 12-0 run capped by a Courtney Shay jumper with 48 seconds remaining that made it 51-47 Hamilton. Liddle made it 51-49 with a jumper in the paint with only 22 seconds to go, but Hamilton's Emily Hall sank two ensuing free throws with 15 ticks to go, and the Mammoths missed a pair of three-points shots as the game concluded. 

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Barach had a team-high 19 points and 6 rebounds. Liddle scored 12 points and grabbed 9 boards. Tranum notched 7 points and 4 rebounds. Stuart had two points and 8 rebounds. Mendell had 3 points and 3 steals.