Potsdam, NY – A cold stretch that saw the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team shoot just 2-for-20 from beyond the 3-point arc in a stretch overlapping the first and second halves allowed William Smith to pull away for a 67-53 victory in Liberty League action on Friday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights dropped to 7-8 overall and 2-6 in the Liberty League, while the Herons edged up to 9-6 overall and 3-5 in conference games. Clarkson will take on RIT on Saturday, while William Smith will travel to play St. Lawrence.

After shooting just 1-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half, William Smith got back-to-back 3-pointers from Olivia Hughes and Angela Bussone to open up a double-digit lead at the start of the third quarter. The Knights troubles from the 3-point line wouldn't allow for a comeback, as Clarkson trimmed the margin to single digits only briefly in the third quarter and would never get back within 10 in the fourth quarter.

William Smith couldn't miss in the first quarter, shooting 8-for-11 from the floor, but the Herons had trouble pulling away because Clarkson forced them into five turnovers. The second quarter saw the game stay close thanks to timely 3-pointers from the Knights. Tricia Loso buried a three from the corner at 7:31 to get Clarkson within two, but a prolonged possession by William Smith pushed the advantage back to seven. The Herons scored on the front end of two free throws, got the offensive rebound and converted on a layup, then got another offensive chance after a missed free throw. When the Herons converted again at 6:19, Clarkson took a quick 30 second timeout to regroup, and the strategy worked with a 3-pointer from Carly Assimon and a bucket from Loso. Trailing by three on the last possession of the half, the Knights took a 3-pointer with a little too much time left and William Smith took advantage as Juliana Gamboa went in for an uncontested layup on a defensive miscue to put the Herons up by five at the break.

Mia Morrison shot 5-for-7 in the first half for 10 points and also grabbed eight rebounds, while Gamboa tossed in eight points coming off the bench. Clarkson received production from its bench players as well, with Tricia Loso and Carly Assimon tying for the team-lead with six points at the break.

Clarkson struggled on offense to start the second half, committing turnovers on three of its first six possessions, while William Smith made two quick 3-pointers, and three of its first five shots beyond the arc, to push its advantage to double figures. Once the Knights started handling the ball better, they still had issues from the perimeter, missing their first seven shots from the 3-point line before Devin Sorell finally buried a long shot from the wing. She hit another 3-pointer from the corner at the conclusion of the third quarter to get the Knights back to within 10, but a 10-0 run midway through the fourth pushed the Herons' advantage to 20 at 63-43 when Adrianne Torea converted in the lane. Molly Stewart and Sorell hit two more 3-pointers late in the fourth, but by that time the outcome was already decided in the Herons' favor.

Sorell led all scorers with 19 points, shooting 6-for-12 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line, and also added 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Molly Stewart recovered from a slow start to finish with 11 for the Knights. For William Smith, Mia Morrison ended with a double-double on 14 points and 12 rebounds and Olivia Hughes chipped in 14 points and eight boards.