February 20, 2006

Steph Czajkowski

Paula Foote

Pria Young

GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith basketball team will host the 2006 Liberty League Championship Tournament in Bristol Gym, Feb. 24-25. The Herons earned the right to host the four-team fray for the second straight season with a 12-2 League record and a crucial non-conference win over Ithaca College.

The first semifinal on Feb. 24 will feature the No. 2 seed, St. Lawrence University, and the No. 3 seed, Union College, tipping off at 6 p.m. In the night cap, William Smith will square off with Rensselaer at 8 p.m. The winners will meet on Feb. 25, at 3 p.m. for the Liberty League crown and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Admission to all three games is free.

William Smith (19-5) is the conference’s defending champion. The Herons finished the regular season tied with the Saints, but won the top seed on the League’s third tie-breaker, record against common non-conference opponents. William Smith and St. Lawrence both played Rochester and Ithaca. The Yellowjackets stung both teams, but the Herons got the better of the Bombers, 69-61, while the Saints fell 60-58.

Senior guard Pria Young (Council Rock/Richboro, Pa.), junior guard Paula Foote (Sidney/Sidney, N.Y.), and sophomore forward Stephanie Czajkowski (Bishop Ludden/Syracuse, N.Y.) pace William Smith’s balanced scoring attack, each averaging 10.7 points per game.

The Herons have outrebounded their opposition 4.5 per game, led by Czajkowski’s team-high 6.8 boards. She also leads the League in shooting percentage (.500).

William Smith posted a pair of victories over Rensselaer (14-9) this season, 65-46 in Geneva and 63-50 in Troy. First-year guard Whitney Coleman (Etiwanda/Etiwanda, Calif.) and junior forward Kristi Baranowski (Liverpool/Liverpool, N.Y.) share the Red Hawks’ scoring lead, averaging 11.2 points, while Baranowski directs the rebounding efforts, collecting a League-high 9.6 caroms.

The Saints (18-7) and Dutchwomen (17-7) will meet on a neutral court to decide the season series. St. Lawrence won the first meeting between the two schools in Canton, 61-47, but Union bounced back on their home floor, securing a 61-55 overtime victory. Sophomore guard Jamie Wolff (Nardin Academy/Buffalo, N.Y.) is averaging a team-best 11.3 points for SLU, while senior guard Erika Eisenhut (Mohawk/Mohawk, N.Y.) brings her League leading 17.5 points per game to town for Union.

Fans unable to make it to Bristol Gym can still follow all of the action. WEOS-FM (89.7 & 90.3 in Geneva, 88.1 in Ithaca) will broadcast over the air waves and online any games involving William Smith. Fans can also log onto the official tournament Web site to get live game statistics, as well as streaming audio from WEOS.

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