NEW LONDON, Conn. – In a game that was decided in the final fraction of a second, Colby College pulled out a 47-46 victory over Connecticut College on Sunday afternoon in a NESCAC women's basketball clash at Luce Field House.

The last 20 seconds of the game featured plenty of drama, all leading to Colby's Caroline Smith (Freeport, Maine) drawing a foul with 0.1 seconds remaining in a tied game. She made her first free throw to push the Mules in front, and her miss on the second attempt ran out the clock.

Colby improved to 8-10 overall and evened its league record at 3-3. Carter McGloon (Bethesda, Md.) recorded a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Mules, and Smith chipped in 11 points, eight boards and three assists.

Conn, which had a three-game win streak snapped, forced 20 turnovers and shot 38 percent from the floor. Jaycie Rojik (Scituate, Mass.) notched her first double-double of the season with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Rebecca Oberman-Levine (Hamden, Conn.) also turned in a stellar performance with 15 points, seven boards and four blocks.

Points were hard to come by in the first half as both teams made things tough on the defensive end. The scoring finally picked up in the final 3:33 of the half, with Colby ripping off a 10-2 run to close the stanza.  Lydia Mordarski (Mansfield, Mass.) netted seven of her nine points during the stretch, which left the visitors with a 24-18 lead at the break.

The Mules led by as many as nine in the third quarter before Conn fought its way back. An 11-2 surge erased the deficit, with a three-pointer by Oberman-Levine capping the run and evening the score at 35-35. However, Chelsea Ibenegbu (Staten Island, N.Y.) supplied a layup at the end of the period to give Colby a two-point advantage heading into the fourth.

Conn took its first lead of the second half on a jumper by Catie Donadio (Clinton, Conn.) with 4:59 left in the contest. From that point on, neither side led by more than two.

Both teams made big plays down the stretch. With the score knotted at 44-44, Smith had the ball at the high post and delivered a beautiful no-look pass into the paint for a go-ahead layup by Adaobi Nebuwa (London, England) with 13.3 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, Conn answered back behind Rojik, who took the ball in the high post, drove to the baseline, and banked in a tough jumper with 6.6 seconds left.

Colby advanced the ball to midcourt with a timeout and put the rock in Smith's hands for the final play. She dribbled down the left side of the lane before launching a running jumper that drew a whistle. With virtually no time left on the clock, her make on the first free throw attempt virtually ended the game. 

Colby, which shot just 32 percent from the floor, cashed in 16 points on 21 attempts from the charity stripe. The Camels attempted just four free throws in the contest and made three. 

Conn College (7-12 overall, 1-5 NESCAC) will next host Amherst College on Friday, February 3 at 7:00 p.m.