February 21, 2003

GENEVA, N.Y.—William Smith College senior forward Laura Hadwin (Vestal/Vestal, N.Y.) scored a game-high 24 points and pulled down a game-high 15 boards, but it wasn’t enough to lift the Herons past visiting Rensselaer, as the Red Hawks posted a 71-56 UCAA win. Hadwin’s 15 rebounds moved her into sixth place on William Smith’s career rebounding list with 637, passing Pam DuMond ’96 (632).

RPI (15-8, 9-4 UCAA) led by as many as 12 in the first half, and took an eight-point advantage into the locker room at halftime, thanks in part to the hot shooting of Kaitlyn Saunders (Northwest Catholic/Windsor, Conn.). The sophomore guard connected on 6-of-7 from the floor in the first 20 minutes for 13 of her team-high 23 points.

After the break, the Herons (8-15, 3-10) whittled their deficit down to five, 41-36, on a layup by Hadwin four minutes into the final frame. The Red Hawks responded with an 8-0 run to push their lead back into double digits for good. Junior guard Kristin Kaczynski (Northwestern Regional #7/Pleasant Valley, Conn.) keyed the burst with four of her 19 points.

First-year guard Pria Young (Council Rock/Richboro, Pa.) added nine points for William Smith, while junior forward Caitlin Vestal (The Broomfield School/Harvard, Mass.) contributed 13 for Rensselaer.

The Herons will close out their season on Feb. 22, in Bristol Gym against Vassar. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.

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