January 4, 2002
William Smith Nips WC in Double-OT
Smith, Britton Record Double-Doubles

FROSTBURG, MD -- The Washington College women's basketball team dropped its first game of 2002 this evening, falling to William Smith College, 82-76, in a thrilling double-overtime contest in the opening round of the "Showdown in Snowtown" Frostburg State Tournament. The Shorewomen fell to 4-5 with the loss, while the Herons improved to 6-1.

The Shorewomen trailed by as many as seven points in the early going of the first half, but grabbed a 24-21 lead with 7:30 left in the period on the strength of a 12-2 run. WC upped its lead to four at one point, 29-25, but the Herons ended up leading at the break, 33-31.

The swings in momentum continued in the second half as a 10-0 Washington run put the Shorewomen up, 45-37, with 14:42 on the clock. William Smith responded with a run of its own later in the half, erasing a nine-point Washington lead - the Shorewomen's largest of the contest - in just five minutes, to tie the score at 50-50 with 5:13 left in regulation.

The two squads exchanged spurts in the half's closing minutes, with the Shorewomen striking first. Washington scored six of the next eight points and led, 56-52, after a made jumper by freshman forward Liz Smith (Hagerstown, MD/Boonsboro) at the 3:06 mark. The Herons answered again by scoring the next six points and took a 58-56 lead of their own with 2:15 on the clock on a conventional three-point play by Kaleen Goodman. Smith made a pair of free throws to tie the game at 58-58 at the 1:15 mark and neither team would score again in regulation.

In the first overtime, the Shorewomen built a 70-66 lead with 1:52 remaining, but the Herons battled back and grabbed a 71-70 lead on Leah Cornwell three-pointer with 30 seconds left. Smith tied the game at 71-71 with a make on the first of two free throw attempts with seven seconds on the clock, but missed the potential go-ahead toss.

Washington took the lead in the second overtime with 3:27 left on a pair of made free throws by sophomore forward Meghan Hartzell (Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown), but Goodman nailed a three-pointer on William Smith's next possession to give the Herons the lead for good. William Smith finished the game by scoring six of the final seven points over the last 2:07.

William Smith was led by Cornwell's 29 points, 13 boards, and three blocks. Jeanne Vinchiarello added 20 points and six assists, while Laura Hadwin contributed 13 points for the Herons. Goodman finished with 10 points.

Smith turned in a 22-point, 13-rebound performance and was one of two Shorewomen to record a double-double. The other was senior forward Allyson Britton (Wilmington, DE/St. Elizabeth), who finished with 15 points and 15 boards. Sophomore guard Katie Piringer (Potomac, MD/Stone Ridge) added 18 points.

The Shorewomen shot 43% from the field in the game, while the Herons shot 38%. WC turned the ball over 26 times, however, which helped William Smith build an 80-65 edge in field goal attempts.

The Shorewomen return to action tomorrow in the 1:00 p.m. championship game of the Showdown in Snowtown against either Hilbert College or the host Bobcats.

BOX SCORE