January 5, 2002
WC Blows Past Hilbert in Consolation
Britton Named All-Tournament

FROSTBURG, MD -- The Washington College women's basketball team bounced back in emphatic fashion from last night's double-overtime loss to William Smith with a 90-35 blowout win over Hilbert College this afternoon in the consolation game of the Frostburg State "Showdown in Snowtown" Tournament. The Shorewomen evened their record at 5-5, while the Hawks fell to 1-9.

Washington led the entire way after freshman forward Liz Smith (Hagerstown, MD/Boonsboro) scored the game's first bucket 11 seconds into the first half. The Shorewomen led 45-12 at the half after holding Hilbert to 4-for-26 shooting from the field over the first 20 minutes. In all, Hilbert converted on just 12-of-46 field goal attempts for the game. Washington dominated the glass as well, outrebounding the Hawks, 62-27. In fact, the Shorewomen collected 30 rebounds on the offensive glass alone.

All 12 Shorewomen in uniform played at least 10 minutes in the contest and four of them finished in double figures in scoring. Smith turned in her third double-double performance in a row, scoring 17 points and grabbing 15 boards. Sophomore guard Katie Piringer (Potomac, MD/Stone Ridge) added 16 points, while senior forward Allyson Britton (Wilmington, DE/St. Elizabeth) added 14 and was WC's representative on the All-Tournament Team. Sophomore forward Erin McMahan (Newark, DE/St. Mark's) scored a career-high 14 points, surpassing her previous best by 10.

Hilbert's Amanda Smolarek tied Smith for high-scoring honors, netting 17 points as the only Hawk to reach double figures. Smolarek shot 6-for-8 from the field before fouling out to account for half of Hilbert's 12 baskets.

The 55-point margin of victory was the largest for the Shorewomen since a 97-20 win over Bryan Mawr last January 24.

The Shorewomen return to Centennial Conference play Tuesday with an 8:00 p.m. home game against Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays, 10-1 thus far this season, are currently ranked 21st in the D3hoops.com national poll.

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