PITTSFORD, N.Y.—William Smith College sophomore Melanie Patterson scored a career-high 25 points to lead the Herons to an 80-71 victory at Nazareth College in the seventh place game of the Wendy's College Classic this afternoon.
 
Patterson was 6-of-12 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers and went 11-of-13 at the free throw line. She also handed out a team-high five assists and grabbed six rebounds. The Herons (1-5) got double-doubles from senior Chloe Hayter and sophomore Gabrielle Eure. Hayter finished with 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Eure added 18 points and 11 boards. Senior Ali Pliszka gave William Smith four players in double figures, scoring 16 points.
 
William Smith shot 49 percent from the floor and 72 percent from the line.
 
Nazareth (3-3) put three players in double digits led by Veronica Peck's 18 points, all from beyond the arc, and team-high five assists. Lindsey Kelly and Sam Sorge contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively.
 
The Golden Flyers shot 34 percent for the game, including a mere 25 percent after halftime, and connected on 75 percent at the line.
 
Nazareth led throughout the first half, including a 12-point advantage midway through the stanza. The Golden Flyers led 43-37 at halftime and scored the first point of the second half to stretch their lead to seven, but the Herons took control of the game with 16 straight points to build a 9-point lead by the 14:02 mark. Eure fueled the run with seven points.
 
Peck made a 3-pointer with 4:11 remaining to get Nazareth within one, 66-65, but Hayter scored back-to-back buckets and Patterson followed with a pair of free throws to push the William Smith lead back out to seven. From there, the Herons never let their lead dip below five on the way to their first win of the season.
 
Following a break for end of semester exams, William Smith will return to action on Jan. 3-4 when it competes in the NYU Holiday Classic.