Annandale-on-Hudson, NY – Although the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team struggled on offense for most of Friday, the Golden Knights hit the shots that mattered down the stretch and held on for a 48-43 Liberty League victory over Bard College.

The Golden Knights improved to 6-10 overall and 3-6 in conference games while the Raptors dropped to 5-11 and 0-10 in league games. Clarkson will take on first-place Vassar College on Saturday afternoon.

Throughout Friday evening's game, the Golden Knights owned the offensive glass, gaining 23 offensive rebounds, but none was more important than in the final minute when Kati Gotch grabbed a missed shot after Clarkson had effectively used the shot clock. Bard, down by just three at the time, was forced to foul and the Knights made two free throws in the final 15 seconds to clinch the game.

Clarkson had trouble from the middle of the first quarter to middle of the second period as only Raeanna Dunn was able to convert on layups in the final few minutes of the opening quarter while the rest of the team was 0-for-15 in a 10:25 stretch. Those shooting issues allowed Bard to jump ahead by as many as five points (17-12). However, the Knights tied the game up at 19-19 when Rachel Marion hit a 3-pointer at 3:16 and Clarkson finished the half down by just one despite going only 9-for-40 from the field and 2-for-13 from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Knights immediately took the lead to start the second half and never looked back, though Bard did briefly tie the game at 26-26. Clarkson held Bard to just 1-for-14 shooting in the third quarter and made enough of its own shots to take a three-point edge through 30 minutes. Bard twice pulled to within one in the fourth quarter, but Marion hit a key 3-pointer at 5:34 to push the Clarkson advantage to five and then edged up two more points when Marion scored on a layup just 17 seconds later.

The biggest basket of the game may have come with less than two minutes to go. Bard pulled back to within four (44-40) and called a timeout, but on the ensuing possession, Clarkson used up all of the shot clock, with Kati Gotch going strong to the hole and finishing with a lefty layup at the 1:21 mark as the shot clock expired. Though Bard hit a 3-pointer on its next chance down the floor, the Raptors would not score in the final minute.

Molly Stewart notched a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end, to go along with seven steals. Gotch posted a career-high 16 rebounds with eight coming on the offensive end and eight more on the defensive glass. Marion finished with a team-high 16 points.

For Bard, Christina Kiser scored 17 points, but the Knights were able to hold the conference's leading scorer to just three points in the second half. Jess Rylander added 10 points and Olivia Couture recorded 11 rebounds.