GENEVA, NY – The RIT women's basketball team (3-7, 0-2 Liberty League) went cold at the wrong time in a 63-42 loss to host William Smith at Bristol Gymnasium on Tuesday evening. The Tigers were held without a field goal for over seven and a half minutes in the second half as William Smith (8-4, 2-2 Liberty League) used a 17-0 run to gain control of the game.
 
Erin O'Brien scored a game-high 15 points for the Herons and Chloe Hayter added 14 points and six rebounds as William Smith won their fifth game in their last six contests.
 
The Tigers were led by nine points from #Leslie Havens (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton) and eight points and seven rebounds from (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove)Courtney Tennant (Cortland, NY/Cortland)#. William Smith held RIT to 30.4 percent shooting and forced the Tigers into 20 turnovers.
 
William Smith pushed the lead to as much as 12 in the first half but the Tigers would respond with 9-1 run to close the gap to 26-22 on a jumper from #Mallory Apperson (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove)#. O'Brien hit a jump shot with 39 seconds left in the half to give the Herons a 28-22 advantage heading into the break.
 
Havens scored seven of her nine points in the first half and grabbed four rebounds as RIT was held to 29 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes. William Smith knocked down 37.9 percent of their shots from the field but was only 2-of-11 from the three point line.
 
#Madeline Apperson (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove)# hit a driving layup with 8:46 left in the second half to cut William Smith's lead to 44-39. However, the Tigers went cold down the stretch and the Herons extended the lead to 22. #Kelly Van Epps (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland)# three pointer with 1:08 left in the game ended the scoring drought but was too late as RIT was outscored 35-20 in the second half.    
 
The Tigers return to action on Friday night as they travel to Troy, NY to take on Rensselaer at 6 p.m.