TROY, N.Y. - Junior Lauren DeVaney scored 19 points with eight rebounds and the William Smith College women's basketball team went on a late 10-0 run with the game tied 49-49 to defeat Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) 59-51 in a Liberty League contest at East Campus Arena. The Herons improve to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the conference, while the Engineers drop to 1-3 and 0-1.

After Rensselaer's Erin Doyle tied the game at 49-49 on a short jumper from the left side baseline with just under five minutes to play, William Smith scored 10 consecutive points over the next 4:22 on its way to victory. DeVaney broke the tie with a turn-around shot in the paint and then made it 53-49 with another basket in the lane, this one an up-and-under, with just under three minutes to play in the frame. RPI turned the ball over, which eventually led to a Brooke Jarvis free throw.

A steal by Oliva Parisi under RPI's basket led to a DeVaney driving layup as the shot clock expired and the Herons led 56-49 with a minute to play. Kerstin Kelly made three free throws for the double-digit advantage before RPI's Heather Converse scored the final points of the game with 20.3 seconds to play.

DeVaney, a forward, connected on 8 of 12 shot attempts while grabbing a team-best eight boards. She also had an assist, a block and a steal for the Herons, who made 41.1% (23 of 56) of their shots. Parisi, another forward, had 17 points on 7 of 14 shooting with seven boards and three steals. Kelly finished with eight points and Christina Mitrow had a game-high five assist to go with six points.

RPI, which made 21 of 65 shots (32.3%), got nine points, nine rebounds, two assists and two steals from junior Nicole DaPra. Three others had eight points apiece, including Converse, who also had nine rebounds. Doyle also registered eight points, along with a team-high four assists in 21 minutes.

The Engineers return to the court on Saturday at 2pm against RIT in Troy, while William Smith visits Vassar on Saturday at 2pm.