SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. –The top seeded Skidmore College women's basketball team couldn't recover from a cold shooting start, falling to fourth seeded Clarkson 75-63 in the semifinals of the Liberty League Tournament Wednesday evening, at the Williamson Sports Center.
The Thoroughbreds wrap up the season with a 17-9 record overall. Clarkson advances to the championship game for the second straight season, improving to 16-10. The Golden Knights will face host RIT in a rematch of last year's championship game.
Kelly Donnelly drove in a layup at the 4:40 mark of the first quarter to set a new school record for points in a season with 516. The junior finished with a game-high 29 points to finish with 543 on the season. Donnelly added 14 rebounds and two steals.
Veronica Moceri added 20 points, five rebounds, and two steals.
Caite Opfer tallied eight points off the bench, and added six offensive rebounds (eight total).
Five Golden Knights finished in double figures. Devin Sorell shook off a slow start, scoring 20-second half points to lead Clarkson with 22 points, adding five assists. Stephanie Grobe and Madison Shea each finished with 13 points, and Kathleen Coloney and Molly Stewart each scored 11.
Both teams were cold coming out the gate. Skidmore held Clarkson to 3-for-18 shooting from the field in the opening quarter, but shot 3-for-16 from the field as Clarkson held a 10-7 lead after one.
After trailing by as many as seven points in the second, Skidmore chipped the deficit down. A Donnelly jumper gave Clarkson a slight 22-21 lead with 2:22 to go in the first half. Clarkson got going from behind the arc, nailing three treys down the stretch, taking a 33-26 lead in to the locker room.
Clarkson kept the momentum going in the second half, leading by as many as 16 points in the third quarter. Skidmore got it down to six on a coast-to-coast effort by Moceri, but Kati Gotch hit a big 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring, giving Clarkson a nine-point, 48-39 lead going into the fourth. In the final quarter, Clarkson stretched the lead to as many as 17 points, with the final deficit settling at 12.
Skidmore outrebounded Clarkson 48-35, including grabbing 22 offensive rebounds for 18 second-chance points, but the Thoroughbreds shot just 12-for-20 from the charity stripe. Clarkson shot 41 percent from the field in the game, compared to Skidmore's 35 percent.
