NORTHAMPTON - Morgan Morrison's (Detroit, Mi/Detroit Country Day) three-point play with 57 seconds on the clock punched a ticket for the Pioneers to the Sweet 16 as the Smith College basketball team rallied for a 65-64 win over St. John Fisher in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday evening at Ainsworth Gymnasium. 

Smith (28-1) establishes a new school record for wins in a season and are headed to the Sweet 16 for the third-straight year. 

Game Highlights

• The opening quarter featured seven lead changes as Smith struggled to shoot the three. A layup by Morrison put the Pioneers ahead 10-7 with 3:37 remaining but Claire Kruszka's trey brought the Cardinals ahead 14-12 after one
• St. John Fisher led by as many as eight in the period but Smith continued to chip away and would take a 30-29 lead on Ally Yamada's (Seal Beach, Calif./Fairmont Prep Academy) 3-pointer with 3:03 to go. Back-to-back jumpers with under 40 seconds in the half allowed the Cardinals to hold a 37-32 edge at the break
• Kruszka's three-pointer extended the Cardinals lead to eight points (42-34), however Morrison responded with five straight points to bring the Pioneers within three (42-19). Ruffner tied the game at 45 with her layup at the 3:20 mark and another bucket by the Rocklin native put Smith ahead 47-45 with 1:37 to go in the period. A good free throw by Moravec made it a one point game (47-46) going into the fourth
• Smith trailed by six (62-56) with 3:25 to go but ended the game on a 9-2 run thanks to seven points by Morrison. After a pair of free throws by Ruffner made it 62-60 in favor of the visitors, Katelyn Pickunka (Westhampton, Mass./Hampshire) came up with a big steal that led to the game-tying layup by Morrison with 2:06 remaining. Sidney Tomasso's bucket was followed by Morrison's clutch three-point play as the final heave from the Cardinals was off the mark

By the Numbers

• Despite playing just 26 minutes due to foul trouble, Morrison recorded her 11th double-double of the year with 24 points and 11 rebounds. She is just six points shy of 1,000 in her career
• Pickunka added 12 points and 12 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the year, while Jessie Ruffner (Rocklin, Calif./Rocklin) finished with 12 points, eight assists and five boards
• The Pioneers owned advantages in rebounds (36-25), points in the pain (46-30) and bench points (11-0)
• The game featured six ties and 16 lead changes
• Smith shot 46.6% (27-of-58) from the field, 23.5% (4-of-17) from long distance and 70% (7-of-10) from the free throw line
• The Cardinals went 43.1% (25-of-58) from the floor, 40% (4-of-10) from 3-point range and 62.5% (10-of-16) from the free throw line

Up Next
The Pioneers return to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season and will take on the University of Mary Washington who defeated DeSales University in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament 75-69. Continue to check SmithPioneers.com for schedule updates. 

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is a NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log on to smithpioneers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.