Box Score GENEVA, N.Y.—Turnovers and a second half slump cost the William Smith College basketball team its four-game winning streak as Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute posted a 74-61 Liberty League win. The Herons committed 24 turnovers that translated into a 27-13 advantage in points off turnovers for the Engineers.
 
William Smith (12-7, 6-4 LL) sophomore forward Chloe Hayter recorded her fifth career double-double on 15 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Sash Borenstein added 12 points off the bench and junior guard Erin O'Brien contributed nine points, a game-high five assists, and three steals.
 
Senior forward Sarah Wetmore scored 28 points and added 13 rebounds to lead RPI. She connected on 11-of-16 shots from the floor to help the Engineers improve to 11-7 overall and 5-4 in the league. Sophomore Amanda Lynch recorded 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals, while Jen Rock chipped in 11 points off the bench.

Rensselaer jumped out to an 8-5 lead four minutes into the contest behind six points from Lynch. The Engineers held the lead, building it to six points on two occasions, until the Herons battled back to tie the score, 17-17, on a layup by O'Brien with 11 minutes left in the first half. RPI scored the next seven points to gain a 24-17 edge with 8:22 left before increasing its advantage to 10 points, 36-26, with 3:59 to go. A basket by Hayter and a three-pointer by O'Brien pulled the home team to within five points, 36-31, before the teams traded baskets and RPI led 39-34 at halftime.

Wetmore had 15 first half points for the Engineers. Borenstein had 10 points for the Herons.

Six points by Wetmore only two minutes into the second half helped Rensselaer build an 11-point lead, 48-37. The Engineers maintained a double-digit advantage for the majority of the next 11 minutes. A Wetmore free throw with 7:03 left put RPI ahead by 14 points, 61-47.

Rensselear maintained a 14-point advantage for the next two minutes but the Herons got back-to-back baskets from Borenstein, sophomore Molly Breen and senior Jaimie Rubin to cut their deficit to eight points, 63-55, with about three minutes to play but a pair of free throws by sophomore Jen Rock (Byfield, MA / Triton Regional) put RPI back up by 10 points with just over two minutes to play in the half. RPI built on its lead from that point, ultimately winning by 13 points.

After shooting 41.2 percent from the floor in the first half, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, William Smith struggled in the second 20 minutes, shooting just 30.3 percent with 1-of-6 from beyond the arc.

William Smith is back on the court at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 2, when it hosts Skidmore College (11-9, 9-2). RPI travels to league foe RIT (6-12, 3-7) on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tipoff.