Box Score

GENEVA, N.Y. - William Smith used hot shooting and a big first half run to break open a close game and the Herons went on to defeat Rensselaer, 87-63, in the Semi-Finals of the Liberty League Tournament.  With the win, William Smith improves to 20-5 and advances to Saturday's Championship Game against St. Lawrence.  Rensselaer finishes the season with a 14-10 record.

The homestanding Herons took control of the game with a 15-0 run in the final 2:38 of the first half to turn a tie game (28-28) into a 43-28 halftime lead.  William Smith shot 48.6% in the first half while RPI made 35.5% of its baskets.

The Herons continued their fine shooting in the second half, making 53.8% of their shots.  RPI's shooting percentage fell to 30.3% in the second stanza.

Three players reached double figures for William Smith, led by Pria Young, who had a game-high 21 points.  Marisa Vespa added 18 points and Stephanie Czajkowski had 16 points and nine rebounds.

For Rensselaer, freshman guard Whitney Coleman (Etiwanda, CA/Etiwanda) scored a team-best 15 points while classmate Kristin Danbury (Berlin, NY/Catholic Central) had 14 points.  Junior Kristi Baranowski (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) also reached double digits with 11 points.  She also had a team-high nine rebounds.