The William Smith College basketball team suffered a 75-70 Liberty League loss at Clarkson University this evening. The Golden Knights made a season-high 10 3-pointers and made more free throws (13) than the Herons attempted (10).
William Smith’s Olivia Parisi led all players with a career-high 28 points and nine rebounds. She was 12-of-18 from the floor and 4-of-5 at the free throw line. Brooke Jarvis chipped in 17 points and a game-high four steals. Lauren DeVaney added 12 points and eight boards. The Herons had a 40-33 advantage on the glass.
Clarkson had five players reach double digits led by Cassidy Dumont’s 19 points. She sank half of the team’s 3-pointers, going 5-of-10 from deep. Mariah Benavides scored 18 points with four triples and a perfect 4-for-4 effort at the free throw line. Ruthie Nolan scored 11 points, while Maddie Pratt and Lauryn Withrow each finished with 10 points.
Clarkson got off to a fast start, making its first five shots from the floor to build an 11-4 lead just three minutes into the contest. Pratt led the charge, going 3-for-3 for six points. The Golden Knights stretched their lead to as many as 16 in the first quarter, taking a 25-9 lead on a 3-pointer by Dumont with under two minutes left in the opening quarter.
William Smith climbed most of the way out of its early hole with 12 straight points spanning the first and second quarters, cutting Clarkson’s lead to 25-21. Parisi scored half of the points in the run with DeVaney adding four and Jarvis contributing two. The surge was part of a larger 20-6 run that pulled the Herons within two 31-29 on a traditional 3-point play by Jarvis.
Clarkson outscored William Smith 7-4 the rest of the way to head into halftime with a 38-33 lead. Parisi led all players with 15 points and six rebounds in the first half. The Golden Knights shot 48.3% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, including 6-of-14 from 3-point range. William Smith shot 46.7%, but went 0-for-8 from beyond the arc.
The third quarter was evenly contested. The Herons were able to tie the game at 47 when Parisi scored five straight points. Withrow put Clarkson back in front with a layup that was followed by a 3-pointer by Benavides. Kerstin Kelly dialed up a 3-pointer for the Herons, but the Golden Knights closed out the quarter with four straight free throws for a 56-50 lead with 10 minutes remaining. CU was 9-for-9 at the charity stripe in the third quarter.
Clarkson used a 13-3 run early in the fourth quarter to push its advantage to 69-55. William Smith fought back with a 15-4 run, cutting the Golden Knights’ lead to just three on Molly Walsh’s 3-pointer with 38 seconds left. Clarkson ran most of the shot clock down before Dumont found a path to the basket for the final points of the game with 9 seconds left.
For the game, the Golden Knights (3-12, 2-7) shot 41.9% from the floor, 35.7% from beyond the arc and 86.7% at the line. The Herons (4-9, 3-4) shot 45.5%, ending up 3-of-18 from deep and 7-of-10 at the line.
William Smith will be back in action at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, when the Herons visit St. Lawrence (13-1, 7-1).
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