SPENCERPORT, N.Y. – The College at Brockport Women's Basketball team took advantage of every opportunity given to it from the free throw line shooting 16-of-18 en route to a 67-53 win over William Smith during the second round of the Wendy's College Classic hosted by Roberts Wesleyan Thursday evening.
Senior Olivia Suhr was a strong presence for the Golden Eagles in the paint leading Brockport with 20 points and 11 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Both Brockport and William Smith shot 18 free throws with the Golden Eagles shooting at a much better 89-percent clip compared to the Herons 44-percent.
The Golden Eagles fell behind early, trailing 4-0 but quickly evaporated the Herons lead scoring the next five points. Faith Welch drained a three-pointer two minutes into the game on a pass from Suhr. Welch returned the favor seconds later as the Golden Eagles took the 5-4 lead on a layup from Suhr.
Welch dished the ball early and often assisting on Brockport's next basket too, a jumper from Hannah Spencer which regained the lead. The Herons responded with a layup seconds later to knot things back up at 8-all. However Spencer's next successful jumper gave the Golden Eagles the lead that they would not relinquish.
The 20-11 first quarter lead was led by Welch's eight points and four assists. Brockport was cold from the floor to start the second quarter as William Smith closed in on the Golden Eagle lead pulling within three with 4:32 left and then a single point at 25-24 with 3:38 remaining.
Suhr went on a tear for the next minute scoring seven points in that span to cushion the Brockport lead up to 32-24, including a three-point play the hard way. She made a basket with 2:18 left getting fouled in the process before sinking the shot from the charity stripe.
Following the first half, Brockport came out of the break clicking on all cylinders outscoring the Herons 26-10 in the third quarter. Suhr, Spencer, Welch, Becky Rossier, Erin Cunningham, Jenna Lividini and Alyssa Wagner all had at least one basket in the blowout quarter, as the score stood at 61-36.
Brockport slowed down its offense in the final frame as William Smith chipped away at the Green and Gold lead but never came within striking distance with 67-53 proving to be the final score.
Suhr led the Green and Gold with 20 points and 11 rebounds as her offensive prowess was a collaborative effort with Welch finishing with 10 points and a team leading seven assists. Spencer totaled 13 points in the contest shooting two-for-three from beyond the arc and 50 percent overall. Wagner showed a lot of grit collecting seven rebounds while scoring all four of her points from the free-throw line.
Brockport will next face the Rochester Institute of Technology at Geneseo on Saturday at 3 p.m. in its final game of the Wendy's College Classic. Be sure to stay up to date on all your Golden Eagle scores and awards by following @BportAthletics on Twitter and by liking the "Brockport Golden Eagles" Facebook page.