GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College basketball team forced 25 Hamilton College turnovers, but suffered from poor shooting, as the Continentals eked out a 54-52 Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association win this evening in Bristol Gym. The loss drops the Herons to 6-8 on the season, 2-3 in the league, while Hamilton improves to 7-7, 3-2.

William Smith held a 28-25 halftime lead, but trailed by five with 5:17 remaining. A 7-2 Heron run, sparked by senior Laura Hadwin (Vestal/Vestal, N.Y.) and capped by a three-pointer from junior Kaleen Goodman (Corning East/Painted Post, N.Y.), forged a 50-all tie.

Hamilton senior Stephanie Dunn (Ithaca/Ithaca, N.Y.) and William Smith first-year Pria Young (Council Rock/Richboro, Pa.) traded baskets to up the score to 52-52 with 56 seconds to go. Dunn put the Continentals back in front with 39 ticks remaining. The Herons got off three shots before the buzzer sounded, but all three were off the mark.

Young led all scorers with 12 points, while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Hadwin and first-year Morgan Kassel (Honeoye Falls-Lima/Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) each contributed 11 points.

Dunn was the only Hamilton player in double digits with 10 points. Sophomore Anna Jablonski (Nardin Academy/East Aurora, N.Y.) collected a game-high 15 caroms.

William Smith shot just 34.9 percent from the floor and converted only 3-of-8 from the free throw line. While the Continentals shot only marginally better (38.8 FG%), Hamilton controlled the boards (45-29) and scored 12 second chance points compared to the Herons’ four.

William Smith returns to action at 8 p.m., on Jan. 31, at UCAA rival Vassar.