Coots Scores Career-High 18 In Memorable Win Over William Smith

February 9, 2007

Amanda Coots led the Knights to victory over William Smith - photo by Chris Lenney

Potsdam, NY – Freshman Amanda Coots (Bath, NY) scored a career-high 18 points as the Clarkson University Women’s Basketball team defeated William Smith for the first time in four seasons, 67-60, Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights improved to 8-14 overall and 4-7 in conference, while the Herons dropped to 10-10 and 4-6, hurting their chances at a Liberty League post-season berth. The win marked Clarkson's first victory over William Smith in the past eight games.

The Golden Knights came out with an impressive 9-0 run in the first 3:25 of the half, but saw their lead evaporate as the Herons matched Clarkson’s 9-0 run with one of their own, tying the game at 9-9 through seven minutes. The two teams battled back and forth, but Clarkson was able to maintain at least a tie for the entire half and finished with an 11-5 run over the final six minutes for a 30-23 run.

Senior guard Vanessa Westcott (Parish, NY) scored a game-high 11 points in the first half, shooting 4-for-6 from the floor and 3-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc. Sarah Wesner (Sidney, NY) added 10 points as the Golden Knights shot 45.8% (11-for-24 in the first half). William Smith, led by Paula Foote and Robyn Capoto with six points each, wasn’t far behind, shooting 10-for-25 (40%).

In the second half, Clarkson saw its lead fall to as few as three points with just under 12 minutes remaining, but extended the lead to double figures on a few occasions late in the half due to the Herons foul trouble. Though William Smith was able to cut into the Clarkson edge and drop it to four points with 3:24 remaining in the game, the Knights continued to make their free throws to hold on for the win.

Three players for Clarkson produced double figures, led by Coots with 18 points, shooting 8-for-12 from the line and 4-for-8 from the field. Wesner topped Coots with a perfect 8-for-8 showing at the line, scoring 16 points, and Westcott closed with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Paula Foote came off the bench to score a team-high 14 points for the Herons, and added in eight rebounds. Stephanie Czajkowski also contributed 13 points while Erin Cunningham produced 10 points and seven rebounds.

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