February 12, 2002

GENEVA, N.Y.—Despite putting three players in double digits, the William Smith College basketball team trailed from start to finish, losing to visiting Hamilton College, 51-41. Heron sophomore forward Kaleen Goodman (Corning East/Painted Post, N.Y.) led all scorers with 11 points.

The Continentals, who began the night with a half game lead over Union for the fourth and final spot in the UCAA Championship Tournament, came out of the gate intent on extending that lead. Hamilton (11-10, 7-5 UCAA) used the first four minutes of the game to build a 10-2 lead, sparked by a pair of three-pointers by senior guard Jenny Russell (Pawling/Pawling, N.Y.). William Smith (15-7, 8-4) scored the next six points to pull to within two at the 13:07 mark, but would get no closer for the remainder of the contest.

The Continentals kept the Herons from making another field goal for nearly six and a half minutes, while posting an 11-2 run, for a 21-10 advantage. Hamilton took a 14-point lead into the locker room, 29-15.

The start of the second half was similar to the opening stanza, as William Smith trailed by 20 at the 13:55 mark. Things began to click for the Herons over the next two minutes. William Smith, which has clinched a spot in the postseason tournament, scored the next 11 points to whittle their deficit down to nine, 38-29.

The Herons got within six at the 8:11 and the 4:16 marks, both times on Goodman three-pointers, but each time the Continentals answered with 4-0 runs to quell the threat.

It was a dismal shooting night for both squads, as they combined to miss 90 shots. Hamilton connected on just 32.1 percent of its shots (17-of-53), but forced William Smith into its worst shooting performance of the season. The Herons hit just 14-of-60 from the floor (.233), including just 6-of-33 in the first 20 minutes (.182).

For William Smith, senior forward Leah Cornwell (Wheatland-Chili/Scottsville, N.Y.) and junior forward Laura Hadwin (Vestal/Vestal, N.Y.) posted identical double-doubles with 10 points and 11 rebounds each.

Senior guard Karen Pogonowski (W. Canda Valley/Newport, N.Y.) and junior forward Stephanie Dunn (Ithaca/Ithaca, N.Y.) scored a team-high 10 points for Hamilton.

William Smith closes the regular season with a pair of UCAA road games, at Clarkson and St. Lawrence. The Herons face the Golden Knights at 6 p.m., on Feb. 15, and the Saints at 2 p.m., on Feb. 16.

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