GENEVA, N.Y.—The William Smith College basketball team dominated the second half in a 64-51 non-conference win over Hamilton College in Bristol Gym tonight. The Herons improved to 6-3 overall while the Continentals slip to 9-2.
 
First-year guard Stavriana Dimitrakopoulou produced a season-high 15 points to lead four William Smith players in double figures. She was 4-of-8 from the floor and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line. Junior Mia Morrison logged 13 points and junior Natalia Baum added 11 points. Senior Kendra Quinn-Moultrie also scored 13 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
 
The Herons enjoyed a 41-36 rebounding advantage and made more free throws (20) than their opponents attempted (16).
 
Mia Caterisano led Hamilton with 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Carly O'Hern was the only other Continental in double figures, finishing with 11 points.
 
The first half featured 10 lead changes and nine ties. Hamilton took an 18-15 lead at the end of the first quarter when O'Hern drained a 3-pointer just ahead of the buzzer.
 
The Herons took their largest lead of the first half, 24-20, on a layup by Morrison less than three minutes into the second quarter. William Smith went in front 31-29 with about a minute left in the half when Baum converted a layup, but the teams went to the locker room knotted at 31 thanks to a layup by Hamilton Marie Steiner in the waning seconds of the frame.
 
Morrison and Caterisano shared the scoring lead at the break with 10 points apiece.
 
The third quarter belonged to the Herons thanks in large part to a smothering defense. William Smith limited Hamilton to 1-of-16 shooting from the floor. At the other end of the floor, the Herons scored seven straight points to a stretch a 3-point edge to a 10-point lead late in the frame. William Smith went into the final 10 minutes with a 45-36 lead.
 
With the first five points of the fourth quarter, the Continentals trimmed their deficit to just four, but the Herons countered with a 7-2 burst, capped by a 3-pointer from Dimitrakopoulou, to expand the William Smith lead to 52-43 with five minutes remaining. The Herons pushed their lead into double digits for good with about three and a half minutes left.
 
William Smith returns to Liberty League play at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 5, when the Herons visit RIT. Hamilton begins NESCAC play at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 7, when the Continentals host Trinity (Conn.).