Box Score GENEVA, N.Y.—The 16th-ranked William Smith College basketball team secured at least a share of the Liberty League regular season crown with a 66-48 victory over Hamilton College tonight. The Herons’ swarming defense forced 29 Continental turnovers and held the visitors to just 35.7 percent shooting.

In the first half, the William Smith defense was in peek form, causing 16 turnovers. As a result, William Smith had a 15-2 advantage on points off turnovers at the break (27-15 for the game).

Leading 11-8 six minutes into the contest, four different Herons scored in succession to inflate the lead to 19-8. William Smith built even more separation into its lead with an eight-minute surge that saw the home team outscore the visitors 13-2. Junior guard Latasha Coney (Lyons/Lyons, N.Y.) fueled the run with five of her 12 points. She also logged a career-high matching five steals.

Hamilton (13-9, 8-4) closed the half with five unanswered points to head into the break trailing 32-19.

The second half began on a sour note for the Continentals, as they threw away the opening inbounds pass and it only got worse from there. William Smith used a 10-2 run in the first three minutes to inflate its lead to 42-21. The Herons never looked back, leading by as many as 25 en route to their 20th win of the season.

Graduate student guard Paula Foote (Sidney/Sidney, N.Y.) led William Smith (20-2, 11-1) with a game-high 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including a pair of threes. Senior forward Stephanie Czajkowski (Bishop Ludden/Syracuse, N.Y.) added 12 points and four steals, while senior guard Marisa Vespa (Immaculate Heart/Watertown, N.Y.) contributed eight points, seven assists, and three steals.

Junior center Sydney Fasulo (Lancaster Country Day School/Lancaster, Pa.) was the only Hamilton player to hit double digits, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds. Junior center Madelyn McGuinnis (John Hersey/Arlington Heights, Ill.) added seven points, six boards, and four blocked shots.

William Smith is back in action on Feb. 22, when the Herons host Union at 6 p.m.