Box Score ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - In the past, if you heard someone say that the Bard College women's basketball team was making history, it would have been safe to assume the record had something to do with losing.

Not this time.

Bard held off Elms College, 65-56, on Saturday in a non-league game. The Raptors are 5-0 for the first time in the history of the program. The 2007-08 team went four games before losing one.

Box score

This one wasn't easy. Bard jumped out to a big early lead, encountered some foul trouble, saw Elms eventually tie the game, then fought off the Blazers in the second half.

Bard was up 10-0 and 15-2 before Elms (1-4) started to come around, but even then, the cushion for most of the first half didn't get below eight.

But Bard freshman Tytravia Riley, who was dominating on both ends, picked up her third foul on a charging call with 11:07 left in the half. Bard kept the deficit comfortable for a while, but a late 11-1 run by Elms tied the game at 28-28 with 44 seconds left in the half. It was 31-28 Bard at the break.

Junior Victoria Fleisher hit a pair of three-pointers in the first three minutes of the second half, and Bard once again jumped ahead. The lead got as big as 13 midway through the second half, but Elms responded again, cutting it to seven (57-50) with 2:26 left. At that point, Elms tried to press and foul, and Bard made enough free throws (6-for-8) in the final two minutes to earn an historic victory.

Riley ended up playing just 26 minutes, but she finished with 18 points, 19 rebounds and four steals. Fleisher had 14 points, Imani Jones had 13 points, and freshman Bianka Bell played point guard for all 40 minutes, contributing six points, seven rebounds and nine assists. Her ability to handle Elms' pressure changed the game.

Elms sophomore Denisha Parks (Fall River, MA) led all scorers with 22 points. Her quickness around the basket was a problem for Bard for most of the game, but Riley, Liz Freud, Kai Germano and Treyonna Frazier combined at various times to make things difficult for her. JC Pickett (Chicopee, MA) added 10 points and 16 rebounds.

Elms, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament last year, beat Bard, 71-31, last season.

Four of the Raptors' five wins have come against opponents they lost to the year before, and another opportunity like that is next on the schedule. Bard will play at Albany Pharmacy on Tuesday night at 7. The Panthers routed Bard, 74-33, last year.