Box Score CANTON, N.Y. - It took all of one game for the Bard College women's basketball team to match its win total from a year ago.

And it took the greatest debut performance by any player in Bard College history to pull it out.

Bard edged Morrisville State, 53-51, in the Kevin Fee / Roos Classic hosted by SUNY Canton on Friday night. Freshman Tytravia Riley, playing in her first collegiate contest, led all scorers with 23 points and all rebounders with 16 as the Raptors opened the season with a victory for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

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Bard shot just 23 percent from the field in the first half and trailed 21-19 at the break. It was ugly. But Riley came out firing in the second half, scoring 13 of Bard's first 16 points as the Raptors got even, then pulled slightly ahead. Bard's lead never got bigger than three through most of the second half, and the game was tied for the final time at 45-45 with 4:59 remaining.

An old-fashioned three-point play by Riley gave the Raptors a 48-45 lead with 4:43 left, and the Mustangs never got the lead again. But it took two clutch plays down the stretch to allow Bard to keep the lead in the final moments.

After Morrisville State cut the lead to 48-47 on a jumper by sophomore Jennel Paul (Brooklyn, NY), Bard sophomore Liz Freud made a pair of free throws to make it 50-47 with 3:23 left. But a jumper by Nijee Scott (Bronx, NY) trimmed the edge to one at 50-49 with 3:02 to go.

On Bard's next possession, Freud rebounded a miss by Imani Jones and kicked the ball out to junior Victoria Fleisher, who hit a long three-pointer with 2:31 left. It proved to be the dagger, and Fleisher's only points of the contest couldn't have come at a better time.

Courtney Coley (Bronx, NY) cut Bard's lead to 53-51 with 1:23 left, but the Mustangs missed their final two shots, including a jumper from Scott with four seconds left, and Bard's celebration began.

Bard shot 43 percent from the field in the second half. They scored 34 second-half points; Bard averaged 29 points per game last season.

Bard's other freshman, Bianka Bell, experienced some foul trouble in her debut, but made a trio of three-pointers and finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. Jones had eight points, nine rebounds and two steals; Freud had eight points, eight rebounds and a key blocked shot in the waning moments; and Fleisher collected six rebounds to go with her crucial three-pointer.

The Raptors will play host SUNY Canton on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. You can follow that game via Live Stats right here.