Saints Drop Golden Eagles in Home Opener 83-64
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Whit Haynes '10Sophomore Iris Santoni racked up 15 points against Brockport Sunday.
Nov. 15: The St. Lawrence University women's basketball team opened their 2009-10 season against Brockport State Sunday in the Burkman Gymnasium. The Saints, led by sophomore guards Casey Capello and Iris Santoni, marched back from a tough 39-36 loss last year to defeat the Golden Eagles 83-64.
The Scarlet and Brown advance to a 1-0 record, as the Eagles fall to 0-1.
"It was a good win for us and a great way to start the season," St. Lawrence University head women's basketball coach Dan Roiger said. "I'm happy with the number of points we put up on the board and I'm happy with the way we played as a team."
St. Lawrence proved to have a balanced offensive attack with six players accumulating points in double digits. Capello was on fire at the top of the key, nailing four out of eight three pointers, and leading the Saints in total points with 16. Santoni trailed close behind with 15 points, while St. Lawrence captains junior Abby Stanton and senior Brittany Parham tallied 13 a piece. Parham was key at the free-throw line, hitting six out of seven shots and earning four assists, while first-year Erica Spera led the team with five rebounds and four blocks.
Brockport's Whitney Smith and Sarah Alwardt led the Golden
Eagles offensively, combining for 37 total points. Smith had a game-high 21 points while Alwardt added 16.
In the early minutes of the first half, St. Lawrence and
Brockport battled point for point, but the Saints were the first to put ten on
the scoreboard with sophomore Katherine Edgerton tipping in a layup off a pass
from Stanton, fueling the Saints to a nine point run.
Brockport brought its score to 11 off a three pointer from Smith, cuting her team's deficit to eight at 19-11 before Stanton nailed a shot off the glass to up the lead to 21-11.
With six minutes left to play in the first half, the Golden Eagles trailed by one with a score of 25-24. Parham increased the lead as she nailed both her free-throw shots to send the Saints on a 10-5 run. Sophomore Elena Metzger stole the ball with four minutes left to play in the first, passing it to Edgerton who put away a jump shot from the middle of the key. Brockport pushed back making the score 38-29 with a minute to go, but Spera secured the Saints score of 39 with a good free-throw. Brockport's duo of Alwardt and Smith brought the Golden Eagles' score to 31 as the half ended.
Capello fueled a big lead for the Saints early in the second period as she sunk three huge three-pointers on consecutive possessions. The Scarlet and Brown looked strong as they increased the score to 53-38 when Parham stole the ball, took it the length of the floor and scored. The Golden Eagles began to inch their way back when Kristin Abbott brought the deficit to 10 off a layup, but the Scarlet and Brown continued to grab momentum.
With 11:00 minutes to play, St. Lawrence took firm control of the game with an 11-4 run. Santoni sunk two three pointers, while Capello and Joudoin added a bucket each.
With just over 3:00 minutes to play, the Saints went up by 12 with a score of 72-60 after an 11-6 run. As the Golden Eagles were forced to foul, St. Lawrence responded well at the free-throw line, continuing to increase its lead.
The scoreboard ticked to under a minute as Brittany Parham threw a long pass to Edgerton who converted the lay-up sending the crowd into a roar of applause as the Saints were able to celebrate their 83-64 win.
"We played well on defense, but we did have some breakdowns," Coach Roiger said. "The good thing is that these things can be fixed and improvement will come as our season continues."
The Saints will see Brockport again next weekend, Nov. 21-22, in the RIT Tournament in Rochester, NY. The Saints and Golden Eagles' rematch will begin at 4:00pm on Saturday, November 11.