The Bard College women's basketball team fell to the Alfred State Pioneers in the Alfred Tournament consolation game, 45-59, on Saturday afternoon.
Aislynn Dixon had a great game, scoring 16 points on 6-of-12 from the field. She added five rebounds and a career-high three steals.
Morgan Kottka found her teammates to the tune of a career-high seven assists. She also led the Raptors in rebounds, with a career-high nine, while scoring five points.
Tianna Gonzalez was a microwave in the second quarter, scoring all seven of her points on 3-of-3 shooting. She finished 3-of-6 overall and grabbed seven rebounds, a steal, and an assist.
Erin Tobes had four points, four rebounds, three steals, and two assists.
Shirley Dong contributed four points, five rebounds, two steals, and two assists.
Lexi Miller managed six rebounds, four points, and a steal in just 19 minutes.
Jessica Martin chipped in three points and a rebound.
Ava Gregory picked up a career-high eight rebounds, adding two points.
In the first quarter, Bard gained a 9-6 lead off of four points from Miller, three from Dixon, and two from Tobes. Alfred State snuck ahead 10-9 at the 2:44 mark before Dong and Kottka joined the party with scores off of jumpers to make it 14-10. At the end of the frame, the Pioneers scored five straight to leap ahead 15-14. The Raptors excelled on the glass, winning the offensive rebounding battle 6-0. In the second, Alfred pushed the lead to seven at 21-14, getting to the free throw line often. Bard used a hot shooting stretch over the final eight minutes of the second quarter to go on a 15-7 run and take a 29-28 lead into halftime. During that time, the Raptors shot 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from three.
The offense started to cool off coming out of halftime, as Alfred State went on an 11-0 run across the first 3:14 of action. Dixon broke the drought with a layup, but the Pioneers separated themselves with a 12-2 run. Bard came out of the break in between quarters determined to fight back. The Raptors hit five of their first six field goal attempts while holding Alfred State to 0-of-9 shooting to go on a 12-1 run. However, time was not on Bard's side, as the Pioneers held on.
Bard will travel to Division I New Haven for an exhibition game on Monday at 6 p.m. The Raptors have their home opener on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. against Elms for their Fan Appreciation night.
