NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The Smith College basketball team won its season opener Saturday, defeating the Rivier University Raiders, 67-58. With the win, Smith advances to the championship game of the 22^nd annual Tyler Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday.

The two sides traded buckets during the game's early going, as Rivier took a 12-11 lead on a jumper by Savannah Butterfield (Londonberry, N.H./Tilton School) with 10:37 to play in the first half. The Pioneers answered, as a Tavorsia Talley (New Hope, Pa./Solebury School) layup capped an 11-2 Smith run to push their advantage to eight (22-14) with 6:54 remaining in the first half. Rivier's Anjulisa Rhodes (Lawrence, Mass./Lawrence) cut the Pioneers lead to six, 30-24, with a long two to close out the scoring in the first half.

A layup by Rivier's Deanna Purcell (Hudson, N.H./Alvirne) cut Smith's lead down to three, 32-29, with 16:27 left to play. That was as close as the Raiders could get, as the Pioneers' mix of relentless defensive pressure and the play of their reserves helped Smith seal the opening day victory.

Smith's bench accounted for 37 of their 67 points (55.2%), while the Pioneers held a 44-to-31 advantage on the boards.

Five Pioneers scored in double figures led by Mandy Castro (San Diego, Calif./Poway), who scored a team-high 13 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-4 from behind the arc. Tia Karapoulios (Cypress, Calif./Cypress) added 10 points and eight rebounds while Paige Marquez (San Francisco, Calif./Saint Ignatius College Preparatory) finished with 10 points and five boards. Samantha Alakai (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) (10 points) and Meghan Holland (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prepatory) (10 points) also scored in double-digits for Smith.

Purcell led Rivier with a game-high 17 points, while Butterfield scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds.

With the win, Smith advances to tomorrow's championship game against Middlebury College at 4 p.m. The Pioneers will look to avenge last season's New Year's Day loss to the Panthers while Rivier will take on Endicott College at 2 p.m. in tomorrow's third-place game.