They say that it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. Courtney Hamilton doesn't buy the first part. Otherwise she would have been thrilled following her courageous and amazing performance Saturday night.
Instead, she was decidedly unhappy following the Wildcats' 83-82 overtime loss against Cal State Stanislaus despite a stat line as full as her belly will be after Christmas dinner.
Hamilton finished with 17 points, nine assists, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocked shots. The senior from Walnut Creek scored with 1.3 seconds left to force overtime on the same night she became just the third player in school history to reach 400 career assists.
She did it all despite falling hard and injuring her leg late in the first half. Hamilton was clearly hobbled but played through the pain and nearly led the Wildcats to the win. She had 14 points, six assists and all four of her steals after the break.
Hamilton reached 400 on a dish to Annie Ward for a jumper with 16:53 left. She joins Kim Abts and Marissa Bradley on that very short list, and with 404, trails Bradley for second all time by only two.
Hamilton also moved up the school's career blocked shots list, passing Amani Housen and tying Cathy Small for eight all time with 60.
