GENEVA, N.Y. - A 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter helped Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) defeat William Smith College 68-63 in a Liberty League women's basketball game in Bristol Gym on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Engineers improve to 10-4 overall, 6-1 in the league. The Herons slip to 8-6, 4-3.
 
William Smith's Lauren DeVaney's layup with about 3:20 to go gave the Herons a 61-59 lead. Just past the three minute mark, Celia Tomlinson tied the game at the free throw line. William Smith ended up turning the ball over on a shot clock violation on its next possession and RPI got back to the free throw line. Tina Heer made the front end of the two shot opportunity to put the visitors in the lead for good. Heer blocked William Smith's next shot attempt and with about 90 seconds to go, Ines Ortea extended the lead with two makes from the line. She then stole the ball from the Herons and Courtney Lewis' layup put the Engineers up 66-61 with just over a minute remaining.
 
Senior Emma Gallagher's driving layup made it a 3-point game at the minute mark, but William Smith wasn't able to get a shot off to tie the game before Sam Krumbhaar iced the 5-point win with two free throws.
 
Tomlinson led RPI with game-highs of 23 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots. Ortea scored 14 points and handed out a team-high three assists. Krumbhaar and Lewis each scored 12 points.
 
Sophomore Stella Davis paced the Herons with 19 points, including three 3-pointers. Junior Stavriana Dimitrakopoulou scored 14 points and DeVaney chipped in 10 points and eight boards off the bench. Sophomore Olivia Parisi finished with eight points and a team-high 13 rebounds. 
 
William Smith held a 23-17 lead at the end of the first quarter on the strength of a 17-0 run that included seven points from Dimitrakopoulou. RPI outscored the Herons 19-10 in the second quarter to carry a 36-33 lead into halftime. William Smith shot just 18.8% from the floor in the quarter.
 
The Engineers led by as many as nine in the third quarter, but the Herons outscored their guests 6-2 in the final 80 seconds to go into the fourth quarter down by just five.
 
William Smith outrebounded Rensselaer 51-39. The Engineers shot 39.7% from the floor, but missed all eight of their 3-pointers. The Herons shot 33.3% from the floor with seven 3s. RPI made as many free throws (18-25) as William Smith attempted (12-18).
 
The Herons will return to action Jan. 24-25 when they head to the North Country, taking on Clarkson (6-7, 2-5) on Friday and St. Lawrence (9-5, 5-2) on Saturday. The Engineers return home to host Bard (5-9, 0-7) on Tuesday.