TROY, N.Y.—William Smith College junior Mia Morrison produced game highs of 18 points and nine rebounds, but Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute rallied for a 59-53 Liberty League women's basketball win tonight.
 
Morrison was 7-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-5 at the free throw line. She was joined in double digits by first-year Juliana Gamboa, who had 10 points. The Herons outshot the Engineers 44 percent to 37 percent, but the visitors were just 2-of-10 from 3-point range, while the hosts made 5-of-11.
 
William Smith never led in the first half and went into the break trailing 24-17. RPI's Elizabeth Eckhardt had a game-high nine points at halftime and finished with a team-high 15 points.
 
The Herons seized the momentum coming out of the locker room, outscoring their hosts 23-11 in the third quarter. William Smith opened the half on a 9-2 run, including five points from Morrison, tying the game at 26. The Herons grabbed their first lead of the night midway through the quarter when Morrison made a jumper and first-year Stavriana Dimitrakopoulou followed with a 3-pointer for a 31-30 edge. William Smith carried a 40-35 lead into the final frame when it closed the third quarter scoring on a 3-pointer by Gamboa and a layup from Morrison.
 
Rensselaer (7-5, 3-2) started the fourth quarter on a 16-6 run that turned a five-point deficit into a five-point lead. Sam Krumbhaar keyed the comeback with eight of her 14 points on the night. William Smith senior Kendra Quinn-Moultrie stopped the run with a layup, assisted by Gamboa. Gamboa earned a trip to the free throw line a few moments later and made both to close the gap to 51-50 with just over three minutes remaining. That's as close as the Herons could get as the Engineers ended the game on an 8-3 run.
 
William Smith (6-6, 0-5) will return home for its next contest, hosting Bard (0-10, 0-4) at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 12 in Bristol Gym.