Erin Cunningham

Latasha Coney

January 19, 2007

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.—The William Smith basketball team, led by first-year forward Erin Cunningham (Morris Knolls/Rockaway, N.J.), put four players in double digits and pulled away from Skidmore for a 73-61 Liberty Leauge victory tonight. Cunningham finished with a game-high 20 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Sophomore guard Latasha Coney (Lyons/Lyons, N.Y.) also added a double-double for the Herons on 14 points, 10 rebounds, and a game-high five steals. Junior guard Marisa Vespa (Immaculate Heart/Watertown, N.Y.) and junior forward Stephanie Czajkowski (Bishop Ludden/Syracuse, N.Y.) contributed 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Krystal Coke led Skidmore with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

An exciting back-and-forth affair, the score was tied 11 times and the lead changed hands 13 times. Skidmore (7-7, 0-4) jumped out to an 8-0 lead, but William Smith (8-5, 2-1) battled back and went into the locker room with the contest tied 27-all.

After the break, the Thoroughbreds led by as many as four, but again the Herons came back and this time converted their momentum into an insurmountable lead. Clinging to a 60-56 lead with 3:57 remaining, Cunningham scored five straight points, launching William Smith on a 9-0 run to expand the Heron lead to 13. Coney iced the win with a 4-for-4 showing at the line in the final minute. She was 6-of-8 for the game, while Cunningham was 8-for-8 from the stripe.

William Smith shot better than 58 percent from the floor in the second half, while limiting their hosts to just 33 percent. The Herons outrebounded the Thoroughbreds 48-40.

William Smith is back in action on Jan. 20, when the Herons travel to Union. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.

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