Box Score GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith basketball team went the final five minutes of regulation without a basket as visiting Rensselaer scored 12 unanswered points to steal a 59-55 Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association victory in Bristol Gym tonight. The loss evens the Herons’ record at 10-10 overall (5-5 UCAA), while the Red Hawks improve to 16-4 (8-2).

William Smith never trailed in the first half, leading by as many as 10, 25-15, at the 5:31 mark, before RPI outscored their host 12-5 down the stretch to head into the locker room down, 30-27 at the break.

Following the intermission, the Herons pushed their lead to seven at the 18:17 mark on a layup by sophomore forward Seraphine Hamilton (The Peddie School/Trenton, N.J.). The Red Hawks responded with an 8-0 run to claim their first lead of the contest courtesy of a layup by junior forward Kaitlyn Saunders (Northwest Catholic/Windsor, Conn.).

Unphased by the challenge, William Smith outscored their guests 19-10 over the next eight minutes, taking a 55-47 lead on another Hamilton layup at the 5:06 mark. From that point on, the Herons were 0-for-8 from the floor and missed the front end of a one-and-one twice.

The Red Hawks pulled even at the 1:32 mark on a pair of Saunders free throws. She finished the evening with a game-high 16 points, including a perfect 8-of-8 from the line. Senior forward Caitlin Vestal (The Bromfield School/Harvard, Mass.) provided the margin of victory on a jumper with 33 seconds remaining, and iced the contest with a pair of free throws with five ticks to go. Vestal finished with 12 points.

First-year guard Anne Hellebush (Pittsford-Sutherland/Pittsford, N.Y.) led William Smith with 12 points, while junior guard Tara Brisson (Bishop Grimes/Liverpool, N.Y.) and sophomore guard Pria Young (Council Rock/Rochboro, Pa.) added 11 and 10 points, respectively. First-year forward Ashley Rodger (Waterloo/Waterloo, N.Y.) pulled down a game-high nine rebounds to go with eight points.

William Smith returns to action at 2 p.m., on Feb. 14, when Vassar visits Bristol Gym.

—HWS SPORTS—