SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Skidmore College women's basketball guard Kelly Donnelly tied a career-high with 33 points, as the Thoroughbreds pulled away in the fourth quarter of a 75-57 victory against league-leading William Smith in Liberty League action on Friday night.
 
The Thoroughbreds outscored William Smith 29-14 in the final quarter of play to move into a tie atop the league standings with three games to play. Skidmore improves to 10-3 in league play and 14-8 overall. William Smith falls to 16-6 overall and 10-3 in the conference.
 
Donnelly dominated throughout, shooting 13-for-22 from the field, adding 11 rebounds and three steals. She also tallied 33 points against RPI in the 2015-16 season. Veronica Moceri added 13 points and five assists, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. Migle Vilunaite added 12 points and seven rebounds.
 
Melanie Patterson tallied 22 points and six rebounds to lead the Herons. Kendra Quinn-Moultrie added 11 points and eight rebounds.
 
Before the game, Vilunaite and fellow senior Meaghan Flanagan were honored as part of the Senior Day and Big Green Scream festivities.
 
Donnelly scored the first eight points for the Thoroughbreds, as they took an early 8-3 lead. The junior scored ­­­­­nine first-quarter points as Skidmore jumped to a 17-13 lead. The Herons came back, taking a six-point, 26-20 lead with 5:36 to go in the half. Skidmore retook the lead on a 7-0 spurt, and both teams started trading leads. Donnelly gave the Thoroughbreds a 31-30 halftime lead on a late jumper with four seconds remaining.
 
Skidmore kept the hot shooting going in the second half. Trailing by a point, Vilunaite rebounded her own miss and scored on the putback, giving the Thoroughbreds a 33-32 lead, one they would not relinquish.
 
Skidmore locked down on defense in the final quarter to slowly put the game out of reach. The Thoroughbreds allowed just six Heron points in the first 7:02 of the final quarter, as the lead grew to double digits.
 
The Skidmore defense shut down one of the Liberty League's highest scoring teams, forcing William Smith to 27.2 percent shooting from the field in the second half, and 29 percent overall. Skidmore had one of its best shooting nights, tallying a season high in points while shooting 47.2 percent from the field. Skidmore also outrebounded William Smith by a 45-35 margin.
 
The Thoroughbreds got their revenge against the Herons, ensuring a regular season split between the two league leaders. William Smith defeated the Thoroughbreds 65-44 on Jan. 14 in Geneva.
 
Skidmore will hit the road but won't go too far, taking on Union in Schenectady on Saturday at 2 p.m.