December 6 , 2005

GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith basketball team lost its first game of the season tonight, falling to visiting Rochester 74-63. The Yellowjackets used a second half surge to erase an eight-point deficit and improve to 6-1, while the Herons slip to 3-1.

In the first half, William Smith took control with a 10-0 run that included four points each from senior forward Seraphine Hamilton (The Peddie School/Trenton, N.J.) and sophomore forward Stephanie Czajkowski (Bishop Ludden/Syracuse, N.Y.). The Herons led by as many as 13 in the opening half before settling into a 34-26 halftime advantage.

Czajkowski led William Smith with 10 points at the break. She finished the night with 12 points and seven rebounds.

After the intermission, Rochester used a 13-4 run to grab its first lead since scoring the game’s opening basket. First-year forward Alex Porter (Walter Johnson/Rockville, Md.) capped the run with her first bucket of the night. She finished with 14 points—all in the second half—and a game-high 10 rebounds.

The teams traded the lead back-and-forth seven times through the middle stages of the final stanza. The Herons grabbed their final lead of the night, 49-47, on a three-pointer by senior guard Pria Young (Council Rock/Richboro, Pa.). She finished the game with eight points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

From there, the Yellowjackets turned another 13-4 run into a seven-point lead they never relinquished, ballooning their advantage to as many as 15 in the waning minutes.

William Smith shot 50 percent from the floor compared to 44.3 percent for Rochester, but the Yellowjackets converted eight three-pointers and 12-of-19 from the free throw line. The Herons managed just three three-pointers and 6-of-11 from the line.

Senior guard Jessie Graham (Lakeside School/Seattle, Wash.) paced Rochester with a game-high 18 points, including a 4-of-5 showing from beyond the arc. Sophomore forward Jessica Waddell (Williamstown/Williamstown, N.J.) and first-year guard Helen Baroody (Cazenovia/Cazenovia, N.Y.) chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.

For William Smith, sophomore guard Marisa Vespa (Immaculate Heart/Watertown, N.Y.) scored a team-high 14 points, while handing out a game-high seven assists and making five steals.

The Herons return to action at 8 p.m. on Dec. 9, when they square off with Keuka in the first round of the Brockport Invitational.

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