Geneva, NY – Down by four midway through the third quarter, the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team went on a 15-2 run and never looked back, capturing a 70-61 victory over conference-leader William Smith Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Knights moved to 12-9 overall and 7-5 in the Liberty League with the win, while William Smith dropped to 16-5 overall and 10-2 in league games. Clarkson takes on Bard College and Vassar College next weekend at Alumni Gymnasium.

Clarkson wasn't particularly crisp on offense in the first quarter, but the Herons were way off their game in the opening 10 minutes, shooting just 3-for-17 from the floor with four turnovers. Clarkson took advantage and went on an 8-2 run to end the period. On four occasions in the second, Clarkson edged out to as many as eight points, pushing the lead to that number the fourth time on a Molly Stewart 3-pointer at the 6:34 mark. William Smith climbed back to within one, but a pair of free throws from Madison Shea near the close of the second put the Knights back up by three at the break.

In the third quarter, William Smith took its first lead of the game at the 7:42 mark when Melanie Patterson buried a jumper, and the Herons extended their lead to four points on a three-point play from Olivia Hughes. William Smith didn't shoot particularly well in the quarter, but got a big boost from dominating on the glass with 21 offensive rebounds through the first 30 minutes. That wasn't enough, however, in the final six minutes of the third frame. Clarkson turned a four-point deficit (43-39) into a nine-point lead (54-45) with a 15-2 run, capped off by a Madison Shea 3-pointer with 1:02 left. That lopsided five-minute stretch proved to be the difference in the game as William Smith was never able to cut the deficit to fewer than six points for the remainder of the contest. Clarkson shot 19-for-21 from the free throw line in the second half to make sure that the Herons could not use fouling as a means to get back into the game.

The Golden Knights didn't shoot great on Saturday (21-for-57, 36.8%), but their performance from the free throw line more than made up for the deficiency. Devin Sorell went 12-for-13 from the free throw line and finished with a game-high 21 points, while Madison Shea added 20 points, going 9-for-10 from the line and 3-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc. Sorell also had five assists, and Shea added six rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Alyssia Marsal contributed across the board with eight points, eight rebounds, four steals, four blocks and two assists. For William Smith, Mia Morrison had a double-double on 17 points and 12 boards before fouling out. Melanie Patterson kicked in 13 points and Natalia Baum contributed 10 points.