ROCHESTER, N.Y.—The RIT women's basketball team used a big third quarter as it snuck away with an 86-67 win over William Smith this afternoon in a Liberty League matchup in Clark Gymnasium.
 
Junior guard Ava Lobozzo led the Herons with 13 points, two assists, one steal and one rebound. Classmate Amelia McCulley added 11 points, shooting 3-for-4 from behind the arc for William Smith. Junior Dani Krenzer chipped in 10 points, three rebounds, two steals and an assists in the loss. Senior McKenzie Mandyck, sophomore Bridget McCleary and junior Miranda Martin dropped six points each in the win and combined for nine rebounds, six assists, and three steals in the setback.
 
RIT was led by Ben Kayser-Cochran's 15 points, two rebounds, one steal and one assist. Maddy Ramsgard added 13 points, four assists, two steals and two rebounds, while Hannah Duran chipped in 12 points, three assists and two rebounds in the win for the Tigers.

TEAM TOTALS

• Rebounds: William Smith 29, RIT 28
• Assists: William Smith 16, RIT 14
• Turnovers: William Smith 16, RIT 11
• Steals: RIT 7, William Smith 6
• Blocked Shots: RIT 2, William Smith 0

HERON STAT LEADERS

• Scoring: Ava Lobozzo 13, Amelia McCulley 11, Dani Krenzer 10, McKenzie Mandyck 6, Bridget McCleary 6, Miranda Martin 6
• Rebounding: Giana Lobozzo 5, Bridget McCleary 5, Jojo Sulmasy 3, McKenzie Mandyck 3, Dani Krenzer 3, Carly Scott 3
• Assists: Bridget McCleary 4, Carly Scott 3, Ava Lobozzo 2, Kira Ostovar 2, Giana Lobozzo 2
• Steals: Dani Krenzer 2, Ava Lobozzo 1, Kira Ostovar 1, Jojo Sulmasy 1, McKenzie Mandyck

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both William Smith and RIT came out strong in the opening quarter, trading the early points. The Herons shot 50% from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds, including four offensive rebounds, while the Tigers combined for 67% from the floor and five rebounds in the opening quarter. McCulley found the hot hand from behind the arc, but a Ramsgard pull up jumper would hand RIT a 22-18 lead heading into the second quarter.
• The Herons continued to grow in the second quarter, outscoring the Tigers 20-18 in quarter two. William Smith shot 57% from the floor, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc, and forced RIT to four turnovers to cut into the Tigers lead. Erin DiPaola's jumper with 12 seconds remaining would give RIT a two-point lead heading into halftime.
• The Tigers came out hot to open the second half and went on a 10-0 scoring run to grab back the momentum. RIT shot 60% from the floor and held William Smith to just 21% and forced five Heron turnovers to jump out to a 65-46 lead heading into the final quarter.
• William Smith tried to recover in the final quarter as it combined for 21 points and shot 50% from the floor. Krenzer led the Herons as they attempted to stage a late comeback, but RIT used the clock to its advantage and used sharp shooting from the free throw line to close out the conference clash on top 86-67.

FOR THE RECORD

• William Smith falls to 3-15 overall and 1-10 in the Liberty League.
• RIT improves to 12-6 on the season with a 9-2 mark in conference play.

UP NEXT

William Smith will be back in action tomorrow as it travels to Saratoga Springs to take on Skidmore in a Liberty League matchup. Action between the Herons and the Thoroughbreds is set to start at 2 p.m.