GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College basketball team put up a determined fight, but came up just short of victory, falling to Ithaca College 63-61 in Liberty League play tonight.
 
The Herons outrebounded the Bombers 39-23, but committed a season-high 25 turnovers. William Smith shot 38.9% from the field with eight 3-pointers and 78.6% at the line.
 
Ithaca committed just 12 turnovers while shooting 41.1% from the floor, 25% from 3-point land and 73.7% at the line.
 
The Herons (9-8, 5-5) got 18 points, a game-high nine rebounds and five assists from junior Stavriana Dimitrakopoulou. Sophomore Olivia Parisi added 14 points and first-year Kerstin Kelly chipped in eight points off the bench.
 
The Bombers (12-5, 8-2) got a game-high 28 points from senior Cassidy O'Malley. She was 10-of-17 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers and 6-of-8 at the line. Junior Grace Cannon scored 11 points. Cara Volpe grabbed a team-high eight boards and handed out five assists.
 
The first half was a scrap from start to finish with neither side leading by more than five points. First-year Lauren DeVaney's free throw with just under two minutes left in the first quarter gave the Herons a 13-8 lead, but less than a minute later, O'Malley converted an old fashion 3-point play to tie the game. Dimitrakopoulou countered with a triple from distance to give William Smith a 16-13 lead after one.
 
The second quarter played out much like the first with Kelly splashing a trey in the waning seconds to send the Herons into the locker room with a 32-30 lead.
 

Kerstin Kelly's late 3️⃣ gives @HeronHoops a 32-30 halftime lead over Ithaca. Olivia Parisi leads William Smith with 1️⃣1️⃣ pts. Herons outrebounding the Bombers 25-10.#HeronPride | #d3hoops | #d3h pic.twitter.com/d4yiCZsiX4

— HWS Athletics (@HWSAthletics) January 31, 2020

 
Just over two minutes into the second half, sophomore Stella Davis made a layup for a 39-34 William Smith lead. Ithaca countered with a 15-2 run that turned the tide of the game in its favor. Cannon and O'Malley each scored five points in the surge. The Bombers led 50-43 at the end of the third quarter.
 
William Smith senior Annaliese Schreder made a 3 to open the fourth quarter scoring and classmate Emma Gallagher followed with a layup to cut Ithaca's lead to 50-48. The Herons got no closer down the stretch.
 
William Smith kept fans on the edge of their seats, hoping for a comeback. Dimitrakopoulou made a 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left to make it a two-point game, but the Bombers managed to inbound the ball and runout the clock.
 
The Herons will be back on the court Saturday, Feb. 1, hosting RIT (8-9, 6-4). Tipoff in Bristol Gym is set for 2 p.m.