HENRIETTA, N.Y.—The William Smith College basketball team staged a furious comeback attempt, but ultimately fell three points shy of the Rochester Institute of Technology, 55-52, in a Liberty League game in Clark Gym tonight.
 
Both teams struggled to score early in the contest, but the Tigers got their offense going late in the first half to take the lead into halftime. RIT scored 13 of the half's final 14 points for a 24-10 lead.
 
RIT carried its momentum into the second half, scoring the first 11 points of the frame.
 
William Smith went more than 13 minutes, spanning the first and second half, between field goals. Senior Chloe Hayter finally snapped the drought, making a jumper 5:38 into the second half. That play woke the sleeping Herons, who outscored the Tigers 42-19 over the next 16 minutes, to narrow a deficit that reached 26 down to just two with nine second to go. Senior Ali Pliszka buried a 3-pointer from the corner to make it 54-52.
 
The Herons fouled to put Maria Edwards on the line with 7.0 seconds left, but she missed both. William Smith grabbed the rebound, raced across midcourt and called timeout. Unfortunately, the Herons weren't able to connect on the inbounds pass and turned the ball over. William Smith fouled Ashlynn Palmitesso with 0.4 seconds left. She made the second of two freebies to make it a 3-point game and the Herons weren't able to get off a three-quarters court shot to tie before the buzzer sounded.
 
After shooting just 11 percent from the floor in the first half, William Smith improved to 39 percent in the second half, including 14-of-28 over the final 16 minutes. Hayter posted game-highs of 20 points and 13 rebounds. Sophomore Melanie Patterson scored 10 points and handed out a career-high seven assists. Pliszka had nine points, all from behind the arc. Sophomore Gabrielle Eure grabbed 12 boards.
 
RIT shot 28 percent from the floor for the game and had a 56-54 advantage on the glass. Palmitesso led the Tigers with 16 points. Jessica Glaz added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Julia Bender had 11 points and eight boards. Merissa Maiorano and Sarah Wolcott contributed 11 and 10 rebounds, respectively.
 
William Smith (1-10, 0-3) will return to Bristol Gym to host Vassar College at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 16.