GAME INFORMATION
Score: Smith College 62, NYU 64
Records: Smith (8-3); NYU (7-4)
When: Saturday, December 30, 2017
Location: Manhattan, N.Y.
Smith Starters: Bondi, Marquez, Holland, Guest-Pritchett, Barriscale
NYU Starters: Read, Fontana, Barrett, Patterson, Linebarger

The Smith College basketball team dropped a heartbreaker to New York University, 64-62, Saturday evening at the Sportsplex in Manhattan in non-conference action. NYU improves to 7-4 with the win, while the Pioneers close out 2017 with an 8-3 record.

SMITH HIGHLIGHTS

• Kennedy Guest-Pritchett (Fairburn, Ga./The Lawrenceville School) recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
• Paige Marquez (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Prepatory) shot 3-of-4 from beyond-the-arc to finish with 11 points, five rebounds, and two assists.
• Katy McClellan (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra Area) added 10 points, eight rebounds, and three assists off the bench.

NYU HIGHLIGHTS

• Kaitlyn Read led all scorers with 25 points to go along with eight rebounds, five assists, and five steals.
• Kayla Patterson finished with eight points and a game-high 14 boards.
• Cassidy Fontana added nine points and two rebounds.

In a tight contest throughout (neither team led by more than eight points), NYU headed into the fourth quarter with a slim 48-46 advantage.

Smith took a three-point lead, 62-59, with just under a minute left following Kennedy Guest-Pritchett (Fairburn, Ga./The Lawrenceville School)'s putback.

Kaitlyn Read, who led all scorers with 25 points, hit two free throws with 40 seconds left to pull NYU within one.

After an errant three-point attempt by Smith, the Violets called timeout with 14 seconds left and Read drove to the basket and was fouled with just six ticks remaining. She made the first, and after a Smith timeout, hit the second.

Following another Smith timeout, the inbounds went to Kennedy Guest-Pritchett (Fairburn, Ga./The Lawrenceville School), who had her shot blocked by Kayla Patterson. Read again was fouled and made one more free throw with two seconds left.

The ensuing inbounds pass was stolen by the Violets who ran out the clock.  

NYU had shown no early rust, jumping out to an 11-3 lead. However, the Herons pulled within 19-16 after the first quarter and took their initial lead while scoring the first 10 points of the second en route to a 37-31 halftime advantage. 

The Violets scored the first five points of the third quarter to pull within one, and eventually took a 44-43 lead on Cassidy Fontana's three-point play with 2:41 remaining. The Violets upped their lead to three points before settling for a 48-46 advantage heading into the eventful final quarter. 


UP NEXT
The Pioneers will take a week off and return to conference play Saturday, January 6 at Emerson.

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is an NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log on to smithpioneers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

(Portions of this recap courtesy to NYU Sports Information)