GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College basketball team outscored Skidmore College 21-4 in the third quarter on its way to a 59-56 Liberty League win in Bristol Gymnasium today.
 
The Thoroughbreds (6-8, 4-3 LL) made the first basket of the second half on a layup by senior Veronica Moceri for a 31-20 lead. It was their only field goal of the quarter, going 1-for-9 from the floor. Moceri produced eight points, a game-high nine rebounds, and five assists.
 
The Herons (8-6, 2-5) answered with 16 straight points to seize a 36-31 lead. First-year Stavriana Dimitrakopoulou accounted for six points during the comeback and finished with a team-high 14 points.
 
Sophomore Lilly Berg sank a pair of free throws with under three minutes left in the quarter to stop William Smith's run, but junior Olivia Hughes made a jumper, blocked a Skidmore shot and got a rebound that set the stage for senior Kendra Quinn-Moultrie to cap the quarter with a 3-pointer. The Herons carried a 41-33 lead into the fourth quarter. Hughes recorded eight points, five rebounds and four steals. Quinn-Moultrie posted 10 points and five boards.
 
William Smith led by as many as 13 early in the fourth quarter, but had to withstand a late run by Skidmore. Junior Haley English made a jumper with two seconds to go, cutting the Heron lead to three, but William Smith was able to inbound the ball and run out the clock for its second straight league win.
 
Skidmore played with the lead for most of the opening 20 minutes, building a 19-13 lead by the end of the first quarter and taking a 29-20 lead into halftime. Senior Kelly Donnelly paced all scorers at the break with 15 points. She was shut out in the third quarter, but added 10 more points during the Thorougbreds ill-fated, fourth quarter comeback to finish with a game-high 25 points.
 
William Smith senior Mia Morrison also reached double digits, logging 12 points, a team-high seven rebounds and a game-high five steals. The Herons shot 41 percent from the field and made 5-of-8 3-pointers, while limiting the visitors to 35 percent shooting, including 3-of-18 from beyond the arc.
 
Donnelly was the only Thoroughbred with nine or more points. Ari Fustini notched eight points and five assists. Taylor Ong also had eight points.
 
William Smith returns to action on Friday, Jan. 19, when the Herons visit Clarkson (7-7, 2-5). Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. Skidmore will also play at 6 p.m. on Friday, traveling to Bard (0-12, 0-6).