The William Smith College basketball team relied on defensive pressure and timely rebounding to post a 52-46 Liberty League win over Bard College this afternoon.  The Herons owned a 24-10 advantage in points off turnovers and 19-7 in second chance points.

Senior Sydni Salvatore led a balanced scoring effort with a game-high 16 points. Junior Sasha Borenstein made three 3-pointers for nine points. Sophomore Chloe Hayter added eight points and a team-high nine rebounds, all but one of which came off the offensive glass. Sophomore Molly Breen chipped in seven points and five rebounds.

Bard first-year Tytravia Riley recorded 15 points and a game-high 20 rebounds. Bianka Bell and Imani Jones registered 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Early in the first half, William Smith (14-8, 8-5) used 12 unanswered points, highlighted by a pair of treys by Borenstein, to build a 15-4 lead. The Herons led by as many as 14 in the opening 20 minutes and carried a 28-18 lead into halftime.

William Smith grabbed its largest lead of the night with a 6-0 run in the second half. Breen sandwiched a pair of layups around a jumper by junior Erin O'Brien. The Herons still led by 10 with 39 seconds remaining, but shot just 3-of-6 from the free throw line down the stretch while Raptors Joanna Regan and Bell made 3-pointers to tighten the score.

The Herons will wrap up a three-game road trip at RIT at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 12. Bard (7-17, 1-14) will host Rensselaer on the same day.