CANTON, N.Y. - It certainly wasn't a thing of beauty, but it was a 'W', and it was the second straight 'W' for the Bard College women's basketball team in less than 24 hours.
The Raptors ran out to a comfortable halftime lead, then hung on down the stretch to edge Alfred State College, 40-38, on the final day of the 4th Annual Kevin Fee/Roos Classic, hosted by SUNY Canton. About 16 1/2 hours earlier, the Raptors scored the final 10 points of the game to beat SUNY Canton, 54-48.
Bard actually led Sunday's game from start to finish, but it didn't feel that way in the final few minutes. The Raptors led 6-0 and 10-2, and it was 23-11 at the half as the Pioneers (2-2) struggled mightily from the field, although Bard's shooting was only marginally better.
Bard's biggest lead of the game - 33-20 - came with 11:20 left. There was nothing to indicate at that point that the Pioneers would make a run, but they did. An 11-4 burst cut the lead to six with 5:51 to go.
A layup by
Tytravia Riley gave Bard a 39-31 lead with 5:31 left, and that turned out to be the Raptors' last field goal of the game.
Alfred State inched closer as the clock wound down, and Bard had a 40-38 and the ball with 1:11 left. Bard had one shot blocked and missed two ensuing jumpers, as they grabbed consecutive offensive rebounds, so the Pioneers had the ball, down two, with 36 seconds left.
Alfred State got three shots off, thanks to two offensive rebounds, including a jumper with one second left, but they all missed, and Bard is 2-1.
Six-foot-one senior Haley Witchella (Oxford, NY) led the Pioneers with 15 points, 16 rebounds, four blocks and four steals. But Alfred State was hurt by 22 percent shooting from the field.
Bard got 12 points from
Bianka Bell, and 10 points and 12 rebounds from Riley.
Gabriela Piercy added six points, while
Liz Freud grabbed eight rebounds and
Lexi Akingbade collected six rebounds.
Up next for the Raptors is their home opener, on Dec. 3, against Purchase College. You can follow that game via Live Stats or Live Video right here.
