January 28, 2006

Pria Young led William Smith to a 31-point win over Clarkson. (Photo by Kevin Colton)

GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College basketball team used a suffocating defensive effort to send visiting Clarkson University to its seventh consecutive loss, 67-36, in Bristol Gym this afternoon. All 12 Herons that entered the game played at least 12 minutes, paced by senior guard Pria Young (Council Rock/Richboro, Pa.), who netted a team-high 13 points.

Young connected on 5-of-9 from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc. Sophomore forward Stephanie Czajkowski (Bishop Ludden/Syracuse, N.Y.) also reached double digits for William Smith, finishing with 12 points. The Herons (13-4, 6-1 Liberty) shot 47.2 percent from the floor and held a 45-27 advantage on the boards. Sophomore forward Amanda Nann (Saratoga Catholic/Schuylerville, N.Y.) posted a team-high nine rebounds.

Senior guard Ericka Fritjofson (Spaulding/East Barre, Vt.) paced Clarkson (4-14, 0-7) with a game-high 15 points on 5-of-18 shooting and 5-of-7 from the line. While junior forward Sarah Wesner (Sidney/Sidney, N.Y.) collected a game-high 11 caroms, no other Golden Knight grabbed more than three.

William Smith, which won for the third straight time, led from start to finish and built a 10-point lead less than five minutes into the contest. The Herons ended the opening half on a 13-4 run to take a 28-13 lead into the locker room. Clarkson, which shot just 25.5 percent for the game, was an abysmal 5-of-30 in the opening frame.

In the second half, William Smith maintained its double digit lead throughout, expanding the advantage to as many as 33 (57-24) with 10:47 remaining on a layup by first-year forward Lauren Samuelson (Olean/Olean, N.Y.).

The Herons harassed their guests into 25 turnovers, including 16 on steals. Senior forward Seraphine Hamilton (The Peddie School/Trenton, N.J.) led the way with a game-high four steals.

William Smith returns to action on Feb. 3, when the Herons host Union College. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

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