TROY, N.Y.—The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute hit a shot at the buzzer to defeat William Smith College 68-66 in Liberty League women's basketball action tonight. Nicole DaPra inbounded the ball with 0.8 seconds remaining and Sam Krumbhaar sank a jumper for the win.
 
William Smith led by two after first-year Lauren DeVaney made one of two free throws with 10 seconds left. The Engineers called timeout and advanced the ball across midcourt. Ines Ortea converted a layup to tie the game with six seconds to go. The Herons' Stavriana Dimitrakopoulou let fly a trey with about two seconds left, but the rebound went out of bounds to RPI. The Engineers used another timeout to advance the ball, setting up Krumbhaar's game-winner.
 
Krumbhaar led all scorers with 26 points as well as a team-high three assists. Ortea and Celia Tomlinson each contributed 14 points. Tomlinson was the game's top rebounder, collecting 10 caroms.
 
Dimitrakopoulou was the Herons' top point producer with 17 on 6-of-11 shooting with a game-high three 3-pointers. Olivia Parisi scored 15 points and grabbed seven boards before fouling out with about five minutes left. DeVaney and Stella Davis chipped in 14 points and 10 points, respectively.
 
RPI trailed for most of the contest and never led by more than three, but the Engineers didn't let William Smith build too much of a cushion. The home team led by one at the end of the first quarter.
 
The teams traded baskets and the lead early in the second quarter, but the Herons outscored Rensselaer 12-6 over the final seven minutes of the half to go into the break with a 27-22 lead. Parisi led the surge with six points, while the William Smith defense limited the Engineers to 2-of-10 shooting.
 
The Herons shot 41.6% from the field and RPI shot just 27.6% from the floor in the first half.
 
William Smith scored the first five points of the second half to take its largest lead of the game 32-22. Dimitrakopoulou sank a 3-pointer and Parisi followed with a pair of free throws. Later in the frame, Rensselaer scored eight straight points to tie the game at 39. From there, the Herons closed the quarter on an 8-3 run that included four points from DeVaney, to take a 47-42 lead into the fourth.
 
William Smith led by as many as five in the final 10 minutes, but RPI fought back time and again. Annaliese Schreder made a 3-pointer with just over three minutes left for a 60-56 lead. The Engineers netted six of the next nine points to make it a one-point game with 28 seconds left.
 
Dimitrakopoulou swished a pair of free throws five seconds later to push the lead to three. Krumbhaar got a quick basket to again make it a one-point game, setting the stage for the drama of the final 10 seconds.
 
The Herons (13-9, 9-6) slip back into a tie with Rensselaer (13-9, 9-6) for fourth place in the Liberty League with three games remaining. William Smith will be back in action at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, at Vassar (16-6, 12-3).
 
RPI will host RIT (10-12, 8-7) tomorrow at 2 p.m.