Box Score SUNY Geneseo scored the first 10 points of the game and never trailed on its way to a 78-62 win over William Smith College in the semifinals of the Wendy's College Classic at the University of Rochester's Palestra. The Blue Knights improved their record to 4-0 while the Herons slip to 2-2.

William Smith came out cold missing its first six shots from the floor. On the otherhand, Geneseo pumped in the first 10 points of the game, including back-to-back buckets by Shannon McGinnis to cap the run. First-year forward Lauren Bruestein got the Herons on the board four minutes into the contest off an assist by senior guard Sydni Salvatore.

The Blue Knights stretched their lead to as many as 14, 28-14 with 6:34 left in the first half, before William Smith made a bid to get back in the game. Sophomore forward Chloe Hayter made a layup followed by back-to-back 3-pointers by junior guard Sasha Borenstein and senior guard Jaimie Rubin to trim Geneseo's lead to six. The Herons got within five twice in the final three minutes, but McGinnis and Cara Manfredi sank consecutive long range shots to give the Blue Knights an 11-point lead. Junior guard Jacqueline Murphy made a pair of free throws to close out the first half scoring with William Smith trailing 39-30.

Geneseo shot 55.2 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes, sinking 4-of-8 from behind the 3-point arc. William Smith shot just 34.4 percent from the floor and struggled from deep, making just 2-of-11.

The Herons opened the second half with two straight baskets to get within five again, but Geneseo countered with two scores of its own to restore its nine-point lead. Hayter and Murphy scored back-to-back to make it a 43-38 game, but once again, the Blue Knights answered with four points in a row and from that points on, Geneseo never let its lead dip below seven while stretching it to as many as 18 to earn its first championship game since 2002.

Geneseo controlled the glass, grabbing 45 rebounds to William Smith's 34. The Blue Knights contributed to the Herons' shooting woes with nine blocked shots.

McGinnis led all scorers with 21 points. Manfredi added 12 points and Melissa Graham, Allison McKenna, and Katie Peterson scored 11 points apiece.McGinnis and McKenna shared game-high honors with 10 rebounds apiece.

Murphy had a team-high 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Rubin contributed nine points and Salvatore had seven points, five rebounds and five assists.

Geneseo will play the winner of tonight's Rochester-Brockport game in the Wendy's Championship game on Saturday, Dec. 1. The Herons will play in the third place game against the loser of that contest at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Rochester.