SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Hot second-half shooting by Connecticut College proved to be the difference, as the Skidmore College women's basketball team dropped the finale of the 41^st Skidmore Invitational by a 74-65 score at the Williamson Sports Center Saturday afternoon.

The Thoroughbreds fall to 0-2, while the Camels improve to 1-1 in the opening weekend of the 2017-18 season.
 
Skidmore's defense caused 25 Connecticut College turnovers in the game, but the Camels caught fire from 3-point range, making 7-of-8 treys in the second half to overcome a halftime deficit.
 
Kelly Donnelly had a solid all-around game, leading all scorers with 20 points. She added five rebounds, five steals, and a pair of blocked shots. She was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts over the weekend. Haley English went 4-for-6 from the field, scoring 11 points, adding four assists and four rebounds. Ari Fustini scored seven on a perfect 3-for-3 night from the field, while Caite Opfer, Taylor Ong, and Lilly Berg each chipped in six points.
 
Sami Ashton led the Camels with 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Casey Walsh, named to the All-Tournament team, added 17 points on a perfect 6-for-6 from the field, and 5-for-5 from beyond the arc.
 
The Thoroughbreds came out of the gate as the aggressors, forcing the issue on both the offensive and defensive end.           Trailing by one, at 14-13 in the first quarter, Skidmore finished the period with a pair of Ong free throws and a running layup by Veronica Moceri to take the 17-14 lead.
 
Skidmore struck first in the second on baskets by Meera Ratté and English, extending the advantage to 21-14. Connecticut College chipped at the deficit with a 10-4 run, as Skidmore held on to a 25-24 lead with 4:21 to go in the half. At the 3:30 mark, Ratte played the passing lane well, getting the steal, with Moceri finding a streaking Donnelly at the basket on the other end to push it to three. On the next possession after a Camels turnover, Ratté nailed a jumper of her own, pushing the lead to five. Three straight baskets by the Thoroughbreds, capped off by a Donnelly layup, gave Skidmore its largest lead of the game, at 35-26, with seven seconds to go. On the other end, Walsh ran down to the wing, hitting a 3-pointer to beat the buzzer, Skidmore took a 35-29 lead into the locker rooms.
 
That Walsh trey got the freshman going, as she started the second half with eight quick points, capping the run on a jumper with 5:17 to go in the third, giving the Camels a 40-37 lead. Skidmore made its run, tying the game at 44 with a big three by Fustini. An Ong layup with 15 seconds left in the period tied the contest up at 46 heading into the final quarter.
 
Connecticut College found its stride offensively in the final period, shooting 69.2 percent from the field, outscoring the Thoroughbreds 28-19 to end the contest. Despite the hot shooting by the Camels, Skidmore trailed by three at 68-65, after a Donnelly jumper with 58 seconds remaining. With the game in the balance, Mairead Hynes scored on a layup in the paint with 34 seconds remaining to end the Thoroughbred threat.
 
Skidmore shot 50 percent from the field in the contest and outrebounded the Camels by a narrow 27-26 advantage.

"That was a tough home loss today," said Skidmore coach Darren Bennett.  "We have some work to do in matching up with shooters and taking care of the ball, that's evident from both of our games this weekend.

"We had a great number of excellent defensive possessions, but way too many possessions where we lost players that in turn made us pay, mostly from behind the arc and that is place that we are constantly talking about defending and we didn't do that very well this weekend. 

"Starting the season 0-2 was certainly not in our plans, but is now a part of our journey that we will have to bounce back from.  We have much too much time to think about the last two games, but in that time we will watch film, work on the court and continue getting better as a team in all aspects.  This is going to be a season to remember without question."

The Thoroughbreds will take a break for the Thanksgiving holiday, returning to action on Tuesday, Nov. 28 against Williams College (7 p.m.).
 
41st Skidmore Invitational All-Tournament Team:
MVP – Abby Kelly (Bowdoin)
Kate Kerrigan (Bowdoin)
Hannah Spaulding (St. Thomas)
Kaylie Brazil (St. Thomas)
Kelly Donnelly (Skidmore)
Casey Walsh (Connecticut College)