SAINTS FALL TO HAMILTON IN OVERTIME, 64-59

Feb. 1: After 45 grueling minutes of play that included eight ties and six lead changes, Hamilton College edged the St. Lawrence University women’s basketball team Friday night as the Continentals won the first of two contests this season with a 64-59 victory on their home court at Scott Field House in Clinton, NY.

The game was the Saints’ second conference loss of the season, while Hamilton earned its fourth Liberty League win.

The Continentals started out the contest with a 6-0 run before Saints’ junior forward Katie Palmer (Bourne, MA/Falmouth Academy) put the Scarlet and Brown on the scoreboard as the Saints cut what was once an eight-point lead with 13:07 remaining to a two-point game a little over a minute later after two consecutive lay-ups by senior guard and co-captain Jamie Wolff (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy) to make the score 10-8 in favor of Hamilton.

St. Lawrence tied the game 13-13 with 10:28 on the clock after a lay-up by senior guard and co-captain Kim Sikule (Westerlo, NY/Berne-Knox Westerlo), but a foul on the Saints gave Hamilton’s Laura Wetmore three free throws, which she made to hand the lead back over to the Continentals. Hamilton maintained a slight lead over St. Lawrence in the remaining nine and a half minutes, ending the first half with a 27-24 advantage over the Saints.

In the last half of regulation, the Scarlet and Brown was able to put pressure on the Continentals, forcing them to foul eight times while the Saints shot 12-for-16 from the line, which helped them to a 27-point half. St. Lawrence tied the game for a second time after a free throw by Palmer at 17:28, and earned their first lead of the contest when she sank her second shot, giving the Saints a 28-27 edge.

From there, the Saints went on a 9-1 run that included two more free throws from Palmer as well as a lay-up, a three from Sikule, and two free throws from sophomore Brittany Parham (Fort Drum, NY/Indian River) to give them the biggest lead of the contest. The Continentals cut the visiting team’s lead back down to two with 8:28 remaining in the half before tying it up 40-40 after a jumper from Hamilton’s Cate Schafer.

The Saints took control of the game with 5:22 left but Hamilton remained within striking distance. St. Lawrence’s Wolff made two free throws to give the Saints a three-point lead with nine seconds left on the clock, but Hamilton’s Laura Wetmore shot from beyond the arc with a second to go to tie the game 51-51 at the end of regulation.

Overtime saw three more ties before Hamilton would take a two-point lead with 2:36 to go. The Continentals’ Sathula had ten of Hamilton’s thirteen points in the last five minutes of the game, shooting 9-for-9 from the line, and also helped keep St. Lawrence from scoring in the last 2:09 of the game, as the Continentals went on a five-point run to win the game, 64-59.

Hamilton outrebounded the Saints by a margin of 52-27, while St. Lawrence forced the Continentals to turn the ball over 35 times. Palmer led the Saints' offense with a game-high 24 points and six steals, while Wolff tallied 19 points and five assists.

St. Lawrence, now 14-3 overall and 4-2 in the Liberty League will face William Smith on Saturday afternoon in Geneva, NY. The Herons currently hold the top spot in the conference, as they have maintained a perfect 6-0 record in league play. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00pm.