Potsdam, NY – Despite another double-double from junior forward Michelle Reddinger (Baldwinsville, NY), the Clarkson University Women’s Basketball team was unable to complete a comeback against William Smith Friday evening, as the Golden Knights fell to the Herons 72-67 in Liberty League action at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights dropped to 6-11 overall and 1-5 in the Liberty League and will take on Hamilton College at 2:00 pm on Saturday afternoon. William Smith, now 10-6 and 4-2, travels to play St. Lawrence on Saturday.

Neither team could get much of a foothold in the first few minutes, as William Smith struggled from the field despite numerous chances and Clarkson had difficulty against the Herons full-court pressure. The two teams were able to get on the scoreboard early with free throws, as both teams combined to miss just one free chance in 13 opportunities. The Knights started to take advantage of their press break late in the first half, building a seven-point lead, 27-20, with 2:16 remaining after a pair of made jumpers from Jessica Brody (Phoenix, AZ) and Chrissy Scanlon (Queensbury, NY). However, the Herons responded with an 11-2 run over the final two minutes to take a two-point lead into the locker room.

Katie Goldberg (Stowe, VT) made a trio of three-point field goals to score a team-high nine points for Clarkson and Michelle Reddinger contributed six points and seven rebounds. For William Smith, Ashlinn Barber had 12 points and five rebounds, while Erin Cunningham contributed 10 points.

The second half nearly mirrored the first, with just a few changes midway through, as the Herons pushed their lead to double-digits with a 9-2 run. In the final six minutes of the second half, the Golden Knights climbed back into the contest with a mini-run of their own, pulling to within one with a little over a minute remaining thanks to a pair of free throws from Carey Turner (Averill Park, NY). William Smith successfully held off the Knights the rest of the way with solid defense and free-throw shooting, including a steal by Latasha Coney with seven seconds remaining.

Reddinger and Turner each finished with 14 points, while Reddinger added in 11 rebounds and 2 blocks as well. Lauren Pluchino (Liverpool, NY) also scored 12 for Clarkson.

Leading the way for the Herons was Ashlinn Barber scored 20 points. Latasha Coney added 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 5 assists. Erin Cunningham also scored 16 points and Paige Myers produced 11 points.