William Smith upends Knights women 67-59

Potsdam, NY - Despite a career-high 25 points from junior forward Chrissy Scanlon (Queensbury, NY), the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team couldn't overcome a small halftime deficit as William Smith held on for a 67-59 Liberty League victory Friday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights fell to 5-16 overall and 2-9 in the Liberty League, and are officially eliminated from the playoff hunt. William Smith helped its resume, improving to 7-4 in conference games and 12-10 overall.

Both teams struggled from the perimeter and the interior in the first half, as only Scanlon and William Smith's Kristen Kush seemed to have any success. Scanlon shot 4-for-6, while the rest of the Knights were just 4-for-24 from the floor, while Kush went 5-for-6, and the remainder of the Herons' squad was 5-for-26. Clarkson started with a 7-2 lead through the first few minutes, but the Herons responded with a 12-2 run, and never lost the lead for the remainder of the contest.

In the second half, both teams figured it out offensively and started making shots, each burying their attempts at a near 50-percent clip in the final 20 minutes. However, it was William Smith's perimeter shooting that won the game, as the Herons went 6-for-12 from beyond the 3-point arc to close out the game.

Scanlon had 25 points, besting her previous top scoring day of 21, shooting 11-for-15 from the field. She also had 10 rebounds. Senior guard Lauren Pluchino (Liverpool, NY) contributed eight points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore Stacey Garcia (St. Albans, VT) tossed in 13 points.

For William Smith, Kush had 13 points and 8 rebounds, while Molly Danahy had 15 points and 8 boards. Freshman Erin O'Brien tossed in 13 points and had 4 assists before fouling out.