January 12, 2007

GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith basketball team dropped its Liberty League opener 65-56 to St. Lawrence tonight in Bristol Gym. The Herons drop to 6-5 overall and 0-1 in the league, while the Saints improve to 11-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

Sophomore guard Latasha Coney (Lyons/Lyons, N.Y.) led the Herons with 11 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Marisa Vespa (Immaculate Heart/Watertown, N.Y.) added 10 points and nine assists, and junior forward Stephanie Czajkowski (Bishop Ludden/Syracuse, N.Y.) tallied nine points and a game-high 11 boards. First-year forward Erin Cunningham (Morris Knolls/Rockaway, N.J.) chipped in seven points and nine rebounds.

A nip-and-tuck affair in the first half, neither team led by more than four points until three of the Herons top four guards found themselves on the bench with two fouls each. Over the final two minutes, the Saints stretched their lead to nine heading into the break thanks to a 7-0 run, including a traditional three-point play by senior forward Andrea Muszynski (Mt. Mercy/Buffalo, N.Y.) to close out the first half scoring. She finished with a game-high 21 points and five blocked shots.

St. Lawrence held the lead throughout the second half, expanding their edge to as many as 11. William Smith cut the lead to four, 51-47, with just over four minutes to play, but would come no closer.

Sophomore Katie Palmer (Falmouth Academy/Bourne, Mass.) totaled 14 points for the visitors, while juniors Jamie Wolff (Nardin Academy/Buffalo, N.Y.) and Kimberly Sikule (Berne-Knox-Westerlo/Westerlo, N.Y.) added 12 points and 10 rebounds, respectively.

The Herons dominated the boards, 45-29, and shot 42.6 percent from the floor, but struggled to overcome 28 turnovers compared to just nine for the Saints.

William Smith will be in action tomorrow when they host the Clarkson Golden Knights in another Liberty League match up at 2 p.m.

Back to William Smith Basketball