GENEVA, N.Y.—Senior forward
Mia Morrison scored a game-high 18 points in William Smith College's Liberty League opener against Union College tonight. Unfortunately, the Herons committed a season-high 24 turnover and the Dutchwomen left Bristol Gym with a 67-56 win.
Morrison also contributed six rebounds, three assists, and three blocked shots. Sophomore
Stavriana Dimitrakopoulou added a season-high 17 points, including five 3-pointers. Junior
Emma Gallagher led William Smith to a 40-32 advantage on the glass with a team-high eight boards.
Senior Sophie Borg scored 17 points off the bench to lead Union (3-1, 1-0). Senior Nicole Conley just missed a double-double, finishing with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
Turnovers were the deciding factor in the game, while the Herons (2-2, 0-1) had a season-high, the Dutchwomen committed just nine miscues. The disparity resulted in a 27-6 advantage for Union in points off turnovers. The visitors also held the upper hand in points in the paint (32-18) and bench scoring (37-10).
In the first quarter, William Smith trailed by four with under two minutes remaining, scored the final eight points to carry a 13-9 lead into the second. Morrison started the run with a traditional 3-point play and classmate
Olivia Hughes followed with a long-range 3-pointer and then a two-pointer.
Neither team looked particularly sharp in the second quarter, but the Dutchwomen took a 27-24 halftime lead with a 4-1 scoring run to close the half. First-year Laura Vinton scored all four of her points for Union in the run.
William Smith forged the last of four ties in the game just over two minutes into the third quarter when Morrison drained a 3-pointer, but the Dutchwomen countered with six straight points to retake the lead for good. Borg bookended the run with a pair of buckets in the paint. Union led 48-40 after 30 minutes.
The Dutchwomen started the fourth quarter with seven straight points, opening up a 15 points lead on Elly Vaugh's short jumper with just over seven minutes to go. After trailing by as many as 16, William Smith was able to cut its deficit to eight on Dimitrakopoulou's final triple of the night with 75 seconds left, but five straight Union points to the game away.
The Herons are home again tomorrow when they host Vassar at 2 p.m. The Brewers (3-2, 0-1) suffered a 68-54 loss at Ithaca tonight. The Dutchwomen head to RIT (5-0, 1-0) tomorrow.
