ALBION, Mich. -- A senior doing senior things.

After a large lead nearly slipped away, Rain Hinton's eight fourth quarter points helped the Albion College women's basketball team gain its first conference victory of the season, defeating Alma College, 60-55. Hinton scored a game-high 20 points and brought down nine rebounds, including the 600th of her career.

Sophomore Elena Welker added 15 points while Cierra Cole scored nine.

Amanda Larson had another strong night on the glass, tallying eight rebounds. The junior also dished out a team-high four assists.

A tight first quarter left the Britons up by two after 10 minutes, thanks to a 10-point period from Welker. Albion went on to outscore Alma, 24-10, in the second quarter for a 39-23 lead at halftime. The hosts used a run over the final five minutes, one that saw Cole and Da'Leshia Davis drain 3-pointers.

A slow third quarter which seemed to find no momentum due to turnovers and fouls had Albion leading 48-38 heading into the fourth.

Alma nearly erased a large deficit with their hot shooting in the fourth quarter, connecting on four of nine from beyond the arc. Clinging to a single-digit lead, Larson found Hinton in the paint for a 58-49 cushion.

With 36 seconds on the clock, Alma's Taylor Sas nailed a corner three to cut the Albion lead to five points. With neither team able to score on two straight possessions, the Scots were forced to foul Cole with six seconds left. The junior missed the pair, but Larson hustled down the rebound and was put on the line. After making the first, Larson missed the second, but the rebound fell into the arms of Davis as time expired.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

The Britons scored 19 points off 25 Alma turnovers. Seven of Alma's turnovers came in the first quarter.

With her 20 points, Hinton still leads the MIAA in scoring average (17.0 PPG). A spark on the glass as of late, Larson ranks fifth in rebounds per game (7.7).

On the night of Hinton's 600th career rebound, men's basketball forward Caden Ebeling also grabbed his 600th career rebound with a win at Alma.

QUOTES FROM THE COACH

"It's nice to start conference play with a win," said head coach Doreen Carden. "I thought defensively we played a great first half … We got stagnant on offense in the second half, but did just enough to hang on."

Carden on Hinton's play and milestone: "Rain had some timely baskets for us … She saw some double teaming tonight but worked her way through some of that … She has a great instinct for the ball and I am so happy for her to reach 600 boards."

UP NEXT

Albion will travel to Calvin University for a 7:30 p.m. tip on Thursday. The schedule is subject to change, and as always, we will keep you posted at gobrits.com.