The William Smith College basketball team will open the Liberty League Tournament Tuesday, Feb. 25 at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The matchup between the fifth seeded Herons and the fourth seeded Engineers is scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. in East Campus Arena.
 
The game will be broadcast live on WHWS-FM (105.7). Fans can watch the game and follow live stats online via RPI's website.
 
William Smith finished the regular season with a 14-11 overall record, including a 10-8 mark in league play. The Heron lineup features four players averaging more than 11 points per game. Sophomore forward Olivia Parisi leads the team in scoring (15.6), rebounding (8.6) and field goal percentage (.476). Junior guard Stavriana Dimitrakopoulou adds 13.2 ppg and 7.4 rpg. Sophomore guard Stella Davis is William Smith's top 3-point threat with a team-high 63 treys while producing 12.3 ppg. First-year forward Lauren DeVaney contributes 11.2 ppg and 8.0 rpg.
 
Both Davis and Dimitrakopoulou rank in William Smith's top 20 for 3-pointers made in a season. Davis is sixth, three behind No. 5 Jill Brower '93. Dimitrakopoulou has 47, which is 14th, three behind No. 13 Pria Young '06. As a team, the Herons have made 184 3-pointers, eclipsing the program's season record of 172 set during the 1991-92 season.
 
RPI is 16-9 overall, 12-6 in league play. The Engineers also have four players averaging double digits. Seniors Celia Tomlinson and Sam Krumbhaar lead the way with 15.1 ppg and 15.0 ppg, respectively. Tomlinson also paces the team on the glass at 11.5 rpg. Senior Ines Ortea and junior Courtney Lewis contribute 11.9 ppg and 10.5 ppg, respectively.
 
The two teams are tied for third in the Liberty League in scoring average (67.8). William Smith is allowing 1.7 fewer points per game (62.8) than Rensselaer. The Herons lead the league in rebounding (45.6 rpg) and rebounding margin (+16.1). The Engineers are on the plus side in turnover margin (0.84/g) while William Smith is in the red (-1.76).
 
Both meetings during the regular season went down to the wire with RPI ultimately earning the win. On Jan. 18 in Geneva, the Engineers used a 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter to take a 68-63 decision. On Feb. 25 in Troy, Sam Krumbhaar hit a jumper at the buzzer to give RPI a 68-66 win.
 
Tuesday's game will be the 70th meeting between the two programs with William Smith leading the series 44-25. This will be the fourth time the teams have met in the Liberty League Tournament and the sixth time in the postseason. The Herons are 3-0 against the Engineers in the conference tournament, but two of those three wins (2006 & 2008) were in Geneva and the third (2002) was in Canton. The teams have played twice in the ECAC Upstate Tournament, William Smith won in the 2007 semifinal at Brockport, while RPI prevailed in a 2004 quarterfinal it hosted.