TROY, N.Y.—The William Smith College basketball team opened Liberty League play on a positive note, earning a 59-51 win at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this evening. The Herons pulled away in the fourth quarter, ending the game on a 10-2 run.
William Smith (2-2, 1-0) shot 41.1% from the floor with four 3-pointers. The Herons were led by
Lauren DeVaney and
Olivia Parisi. DeVaney was 8-of-12 shooting on her way to a game-high 19 points while Parisi was 7-of-14 shooting and finished with 17 points. DeVaney also paced the Herons in rebounding, grabbing eight caroms.
RPI (1-3, 0-1) shot 32.3% from the floor and went 2-of-10 from deep. Nicole DaPra led the Engineers with nine points and nine boards. Heather Converse also collected nine rebounds, helping Rensselaer to a 42-32 advantage on the glass.
After an uneven first quarter that saw both teams score eight points, William Smith seized the lead with nine straight points, the first six came from
Olivia Parisi and
Lauren DeVaney capped the run with a 3-pointer. RPI slowed the visitors' momentum with back-to-back buckets, but DeVaney countered with consecutive field goals of her own followed by a layup from
Fiona Horan that put the Herons in front 25-16 with under two minutes left in the half.
The Engineers scored the final six points of the half to close the gap to three heading into the locker room.
DeVaney led all scorers with 11 points at the break while Parisi had eight.
Neither team led by more than six points through the first 15 minutes. Erin Doyle's jumper with under five minutes left in the fourth quarter tied the game for the 18th and final time.
A minute later, William Smith took the lead for good when DeVaney posted up for two and a 51-49 edge. RPI missed a shot at the other end of the floor. Back on offense, the Herons'
Christina Mitrow fired a pass into the lane to DeVaney, who spun quickly to her left for a layup and a four-point lead. William Smith ran its lead out to 10 before RPI scored another point, the final basket of the game.
The Herons will play Game 3 of a nine-game road trip tomorrow, visiting Vassar for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
