3 Herons hit double digits in win over RPI

GENEVA, N.Y.-Three William Smith College players reached double digits in the scoring column to lead the Heron basketball team to a 69-57 Liberty League win over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Bristol Gymnasium tonight. Senior Mia Morrison led the charge with a game-high 18 points. Morrison pulled in a game-high 13 rebounds, including 10 on the defensive end of the floor. With 18 points tonight, she now has 1,310 points for her career and moves into fourth place on William Smith's career scoring list. Sophomore Stavriana Dimitrakopoulou had 17 points, including a game-high five 3-pointers, which was one more than the Engineers made as a team. Sophomore Juliana Gamboa added 10 points and a game-high six assists for the Herons (6-5, 2-3). RPI (7-5, 2-3) also had three players hit double figures. Elizabeth Eckhardt had a team-high 15 points. Lakissa Martin and Sam O'Keefe added 13 and 10 points, respectively. O'Keefe and Ines Ortea pulled in a team-high six boards. William Smith seized the lead just over a minute into the game when Dimitrakopoulou dialed long distance, giving the Herons a 3-2 lead. The Herons extended their lead to 13 with a 9-0 run late in the first quarter. William Smith led 20-11 at the end of the opening 10 minutes The Herons opened the second quarter with a 9-3 run and took their largest lead of the half, 16 points, on a Dimitrakopoulou 3-pointer. The Engineers cut the deficit to 12 at the half. Morrison and Gamboa had game-highs of 10 points in the first half. The Engineers pulled within eight with three minutes remaining in the third quarter but William Smith used a late third quarter push to extend the lead out to 14 points. RPI scored the first three points of the fourth quarter to make it a nine point game but William Smith answered with a 3-pointer and never trailed by single digits for the rest of the game. The Herons used Dimitrakopoulou's three pointer to launch a 12-2 run, extending the lead to 19 points with four minutes remaining in the game. The Engineers ended the game with a 9-2 run of their own. William Smith will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 11, when they travel to Bard for a Liberty League Contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.