PITTSFORD, N.Y.—Junior Mia Morrison's buzzer beater gave the William Smith College basketball team a 61-60 win at Nazareth College tonight. The layup with 0.3 seconds remaining capped a game-high 22 point night for the Geneva native.
 
Morrison was 9-of-16 shooting, including 7-of-12 in the second half. She was joined in double figures by senior Kendra Quinn-Moultrie, who had 12 points.
 
Samantha Peebles paced the Golden Flyers (2-5) with 21 points. Rachel Benedict contributed a double-double on 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
An extremely tight contest, the game featured 18 lead changes and 14 ties. William Smith (5-3) grabbed the largest lead of the night for either team on Quinn-Moultrie's traditional 3-point play with about 30 seconds left in the first quarter. The free throw gave the Herons a 17-11 lead. Benedict capped the first quarter scoring with a 3-pointer to make it a 17-14 game after one.
 
Quinn-Moultrie closed out the first half scoring with a pair of free throws that gave her a game-high 10 points and the Herons a 24-23 halftime lead.
 
Nazareth outscored William Smith 18-16 in the third quarter for a 41-40 lead going into the final 10 minutes.
 
The drama of the final 30 seconds of the game began with Peebles making a pair of free throws, giving the home team a 60-58 lead. With 19 seconds left, sophomore Emma Gallagher made the second of two free throws to get the visitors within one. Morrison's game winner was set up by first-year Juliana Gamboa's steal and a Heron timeout with 10.7 seconds left. Gamboa also earned the assist on Morrison's layup.
 
The Herons finished the game plus 12 in turnover margin and enjoyed a 24-11 edge in points off turnovers.
 
William Smith will return to Bristol Gym for its next contest, hosting Hamilton College at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 2. The game will be broadcast live on WHWS-FM and can be seen online via HWS All-Access.