With the win, the Herons improve to 13-10 overall, 7-6 in the conference, and can clinch a spot in the four-team Liberty League Tournament with a win over Vassar tomorrow. The Red Hawks fall to 15-9, 8-5, and need to beat Hamilton tomorrow to keep their season alive.
Cunningham was joined in double digits by junior forward Stephanie Czajkowski (Bishop Ludden/Syracuse, N.Y.) and junior guard Marisa Vespa (Immaculate Heart/Watertown, N.Y.). Czajkowski narrowly missed a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Vespa contributed 11 points, five assists, and a game-high three steals.
Sophomore guard Whitney Coleman (Etiwanda/Etiwanda, Calif.) was the only Rensselaer player to hit double figures, finishing with 15 points.
The early going of the first half was filled with fouls, but the Herons broke a 10-all tie with a 15-4 run to build their biggest lead of the session. Cunningham fueled the surge with nine points.
Rensselaer managed to trim its deficit down to seven by the end of the first half, leaving William Smith a 30-23 lead.
In the second half, the Heron lead dwindled down to just five, 45-40, at the 4:12 mark, but William Smith outscored their guest 15-5 in the stretch run to secure the victory.
Against one of the top rebounding team’s in the country (RPI began the week 14th in rebounding margin at +9.0), the Herons posted a 38-33 advantage on the glass. William Smith shot just 35.8 percent from the floor, but limited the Red Hawks to just 28.8 percent, including 26.9 percent in the second half.
Newspaper Box Score Rensselaer vs William Smith 02-16-07 6 p.m. at Geneva, N.Y.; Bristol Gym At Geneva, N.Y.; Bristol Gym WILLIAM SMITH 60, RENSSELAER 45 RENSSELAER (15-9, 8-5 LL) Whitney Coleman 4-16 7-9 15; Caitlyn Charest 4-9 0-0 9; Kristi Baranowski 3-8 2-2 8; Missy Jackman 2-4 2-2 6; Elizabeth Barker 2-3 2-3 6; Kristin Danbury 0-1 1-2 1; Kerry Hayes 0-3 0-0 0; Brittney O'Neal 0-0 0-0 0; Tory Lyons 0-2 0-0 0; Destany Eagles 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 15-52 14-18 45. WILLIAM SMITH (13-10, 7-6 LL) Erin Cunningham 7-14 8-9 22; Stephanie Czajkowski 7-13 0-0 14; Marisa Vespa 2-6 7-8 11; Paula Foote 2-8 2-2 7; Stephanie Cochran 1-2 0-1 3; Kristen Suatoni 0-2 2-2 2; Latasha Coney 0-6 1-3 1; Amanda Nann 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-53 20-25 60. Rensselaer.................... 23 22 - 45 William Smith................. 30 30 - 60 3-point goals--Rensselaer 1-12 (Caitlyn Charest 1-3; Kristi Baranowski 0-1; Missy Jackman 0-1; Destany Eagles 0-3; Whitney Coleman 0-4), William Smith 2-9 (Paula Foote 1-5; Stephanie Cochran 1-1; Marisa Vespa 0-1; Latasha Coney 0-2). Fouled out--Rensselaer-Destany Eagles, William Smith-None. Rebounds--Rensselaer 33 (Whitney Coleman 5; Kristi Baranowski 5), William Smith 38 (Erin Cunningham 11). Assists--Rensselaer 6 (Destany Eagles 1; Kristin Danbury 1; Whitney Coleman 1; Elizabeth Barker 1; Missy Jackman 1; Caitlyn Charest 1), William Smith 16 (Marisa Vespa 5). Total fouls--Rensselaer 21, William Smith 20. Technical fouls--Rensselaer-None, William Smith-None. A-220 NEXT GAME: Vassar at William Smith, Feb. 17, 2 p.m. RPI at Hamilton, Feb. 17, 2 p.m.