Gallery: (12-5-2025) Women's Basketball vs William Smith (MM)
ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – The Bard College women's basketball team earned a historic win over the William Smith Herons on Friday evening, using a 21-point fourth quarter to slam the door, 62-49, at Stevenson Athletic Center. It was the first time the Raptors defeated a conference opponent at home.
All eight Raptors who entered the contest scored 3+ points and grabbed 2+ rebounds, while seven of eight drilled three-pointers. Leading the way was
Erin Tobes, who had 18 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and a steal, all while going 10-of-10 from the line.
Morgan Kottka stretched the floor, hitting three triples and totaling 13 points, three steals, and two rebounds.
Ava Gregory hit 2-of-5 from beyond the arc and added five rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.
Jessica Martin had eight quick points in 12 minutes off the bench, contributing two rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Lexi Miller tied for the game-high in steals, with three, adding three points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Shirley Dong played a game-high 35 minutes as the floor general, tallying five points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Aislynn Dixon hit two big threes and chipped in four rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Tianna Gonzalez rounded out the Raptors with four boards and three points.
The Raptors shut down the Herons in the first quarter, exemplified by William Smith's 4-of-16 shooting. After the Herons scored four points in the first 40 seconds, Bard locked in and went on a 10-0 run across the next eight minutes, with four different Raptors recording steals during that stretch.
Tobes hit her first three of the season with 43 seconds remaining in the quarter to extend the lead to seven at 13-6. William Smith would slowly chip away in the next frame, tying the game at 24-24 with 2:25 left in the half. Gonzalez answered with a three on the ensuing possession to allow Bard to take a lead into halftime.
In the third quarter, the Raptors relentlessly attacked and generated open looks from deep, hitting 3-of-8 (37.5%) from long range. A Gregory three made it 30-24 Bard half a minute into second-half action, but a 10-1 run by William Smith turned the tide momentarily, with the Herons taking a three-point lead at 34-31.
A huge moment came when Martin nailed a shot at the buzzer at the end of the third quarter to send the crowd into a frenzy. Martin added to the theatrics with a three-pointer to start the scoring in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, the Raptors prevented the Herons from scoring until the 6:22 mark. Even after that score, Dong hit another three for Bard to bring the lead to seven, 47-40. The Raptors led by seven, 55-48, with 1:39 to play when William Smith elected to foul in desperation. Tobes continued to hit free throw after free throw to ice the game.
Head Coach
Alaina Walker said after the game, "These kids work hard day in and day out; their work ethic is unmatched…we knew eventually we would get to this point…because they came in ready to go."
Tobes added, "It's indescribable how excited we are. We've worked so hard for this moment."
Kottka also noted, "We've just been working every single day…on and off the court, always in the gym, we're always working hard in the weight room, I think that we've just improved so much since our first game."
It has been 202 games since the Raptors have won a conference match, dating back to January 11, 2013 when the Raptors won their first Liberty League match against Clarkson, 52-46.
Bard has another chance at a conference win tomorrow at 2 p.m., when they play host to RIT for their Pink Out game with proceeds going to Miles of Hope.
