GENEVA, N.Y.— The William Smith basketball team put on a strong defensive showing and used a balanced attack as it earned its first victory of the season with a 54-48 win over Rensselaer this afternoon in Bristol Gymnasium. The win was the first of the Head Coach Seraphine Hamilton '06 era.

Sophomore Amelia McCulley led William Smith with 20 points and seven rebounds. She added a career-high four blocks, and a season-high two assists and two steals. First-year Anne Keneally added 10 points, three rebounds and one block in the win. Sophomore's Ava Lobozzo and Giana Lobozzo combined for 16 points, 14 rebounds, six steals and five assists to lead the Herons to victory.

RPI was led by Amanda Gallagher with 10 points, two rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Julia Rowe chipped in eight points and three rebounds in the loss. William Smith held the Engineers to just 48 points, marking their lowest scoring performance of the season.

TEAM TOTALS

• Rebounds: William Smith 46, RPI 35
• Assists: William Smith 11, RPI 11
• Turnovers: William Smith 20, RPI 16
• Steals: William Smith 10, RPI 9
• Blocked Shots: William Smith 7, RPI 4

HERON STAT LEADERS

• Scoring: Amelia McCulley 20, Anne Keneally 10, Ava Lobozzo 8, Giana Lobozzo 8
• Rebounding: Ava Lobozzo 9, Amelia McCulley 7, Jojo Sulmasy 6, Giana Lobozzo 5, Carly Scott 5
• Assists: Giana Lobozzo 3, Ava Lobozzo 2, Amelia McCulley 2
• Steals: Giana Lobozzo 3, Ava Lobozzo 3, Amelia McCulley 2

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Herons jumped out to a 5-0 lead to open the game and never looked back. William Smith shot 47.1% from the floor in the opening quarter and found seven early points from McCulley to give the Herons a 19-11 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
• Both William Smith and RPI's defenses stepped up in the second quarter as the Herons held an 11-10 advantage in scoring in the second. The two sides traded the momentum heading into halftime, but the Herons found crucial points from in the paint to maintain their nine-point lead heading into the second half.
• The Engineers fought back in the third quarter and tallied seven points from their bench players to keep them in the game. William Smith responded with another seven-point quarter from McCulley to keep the lead heading into the final 10 minutes of play.
• RPI continued its momentum in the fourth and got within two points with just under four minutes remaining. The Herons locked back in defensively and found four straight points to regain the late lead. William Smith used the clock to their advantage and played solid defense to close out the contest on top 54-48.

COACHES CORNER

"The team worked hard forming a "we" instead of "me" mentality this week," said Head Coach Seraphine Hamilton '06. "Today wasn't a perfect game, and yet it was imperfectly perfect because of the ways we showed up for each other. I'm grateful we got the result—they earned it, and they deserved it. It is a great platform as we head into the heart of league play!".

FOR THE RECORD

• With its first win of the season, William Smith moves to 1-9 overall with a 1-2 record in conference play.
• RPI falls to 8-2 with the loss and suffers its first conference loss of the season. The Engineers are now 2-1 in Liberty League play.

UP NEXT
 
William Smith will be back in action Friday, Jan. 10, when it welcomes RIT to Geneva for a Liberty League matchup. Tipoff between the Herons and the Tigers is set for 5:30 in Bristol Gymnasium.