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Herons move into 1st place tie with win over Saints
January 27, 2006
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Tanya Richvalsky |
GENEVA, N.Y.—Senior forward Tanya Richvalsky (Mohawk/Mohawk, N.Y.) led three William Smith College players in double digits this evening as the Herons defeated St. Lawrence University 62-54 in Liberty League women’s basketball action. The win moves William Smith into a first place tie in the conference with the Saints and Union College.
Richvalsky netted a lucky 13 points, while junior guard Paula Foote (Sidney/Sidney, N.Y.) and sophomore guard Marisa Vespa (Immaculate Heart/Watertown, N.Y.) added 12 points and 11 points, respectively, to the winning effort.
Junior forward Andrea Muszynski (Mt. Mercy/Buffalo, N.Y.) scored a game-high 22 points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds for St. Lawrence (11-6, 5-1 Liberty League). She was the only visitor to reach double digits in the scoring column.
The host Herons (12-4, 5-1) shot 49 percent from the floor, including 56 percent (14-25) in the first half, while limiting the Saints to just 37.5 percent for the game. William Smith also outrebounded St. Lawrence 35-31. Sophomore forward Stephanie Czajkowski (Bishop Ludden/Syracuse, N.Y.) paced the home team on the glass with a game-high nine.
Trailing 29-24 at halftime, the Saints grabbed the lead twice in the second half—once near the midway point and again four minutes later—but each time the Herons responded with decisive runs. With SLU up three near the 10-minute mark of the second stanza, William Smith got a three-pointer from Foote and a traditional three-point play from Richvalsky to vault back into the lead.
The Saints secured the lead just once more, 47-45, on a Muszynski layup at 6:07, but this time the Herons scored eight unanswered to seize control of the contest.
William Smith returns to action at 2 p.m. on Jan. 28, when the Herons host Clarkson University. The Golden Knights (4-13, 0-6) dropped a 70-40 decision at Hamilton College this evening.