GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College duo of Mia Morrison and Gabrielle Eure turned in a strong performance in the paint leading the Herons to a 52-44 win over Ithaca College in Bristol Gym tonight.
 
Morrison scored a team-high 15 points, collected a game-high 13 rebounds, and blocked a season-high four shots. Eure also posted a double-double on 13 points and 11 rebounds. She was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor and had three steals.
 
William Smith controlled the paint, outscoring Ithaca 38-24 in the post. The Herons also dominated on the glass (53-36) and had a 10-6 edge in second chance points.
 
Ithaca's Jordan Beers led all scorers with 16 points, while Erin Ferguson added 10 points.
 
A close game throughout, William Smith's final margin of victory was the largest lead of the game for either side. The game was tied eight times and the lead changed hands 11 times, but most of the back-and-forth occurred in the first half.
 
William Smith led 14-12 after one quarter and carried a 29-28 lead into halftime thanks to Morrison's layup with nine seconds to go. She also preserved the lead with a blocked shot on a Bombers' jumper at the buzzer.
 
Morrison and Beers each had 13 points at the intermission.
 
Ali Ricchuuti scored the opening basket of the second half to give Ithaca its final lead of the night. Eure scored the game's next three points to put William Smith in front by two. Ferguson tied the game for the final time, making two at the free throw line two minutes into the second half. The Herons grabbed the lead for good when Kendra Quinn-Moultrie (6 pts, 6 rebs) sandwiched a pair of layups around a jumper by Olivia Hughes (2pts, 5 rebs) for a 38-32 lead. The Bombers scored the final five points of the third quarter to make it a 1-point game with 10 minutes to play.
 
Eure started the final frame with a jumper, a steal and a layup, launching the Herons on a 7-2 run. William Smith maintained at least a two-possession lead until Beers hit a 3-pointer with 45 seconds to go to make it a 47-44 game. Beers made all three of Ithaca's 3-pointers. The Bombers attempted 26 from behind the arc.
 
Morrison finished off the Herons' ensuing possession layup, her only points of the second half, but it gave the home team a 5-point lead with 18 seconds left. Melanie Patterson (8 pts, 5 rebs, 4 stls, 3 assts) went 3-for-4 from the free throw line to close out the night's scoring.
 
William Smith snapped a five-game losing streak to improve to 2-6. The Herons also ended a seven-game drought against the Bombers, beating Ithaca for the first time since Jan. 15, 2008.
 
The Bombers (3-4) are back in action on Saturday, Dec. 12, when they host Rochester at 4 p.m. The Herons are done with the 2015 portion of their schedule and will begin Liberty League play at 2 p.m. on Jan. 2 at Rensselaer.