WOLFF, PALMER LEAD SAINTS BACK TO NCAA TOURNEY WITH LIBERTY LEAGUE TITLE

Mar. 1: Senior Jamie Wolff scored 26 points and junior Katie Palmer chipped in with 17 points and nine rebounds as second seeded St. Lawrence won the 2008 Liberty League women’s basketball championship, beating top-seeded William Smith 62-53 in Geneva on Saturday.

The Saints, now 23-4, will make their second straight trip to the NCAA Division III tournament and their seventh since 1998 with the Liberty League’s automatic bid. William Smith, 23-3, is a likely at-large choice for the upcoming tournament.

The win was the ninth straight for the Saints and the second this season over the Herons. SLU’s last loss was at William Smith on Feb. 2.

Wolff hit four of six from three point range and had five rebounds to go with two assists and two steals, while Palmer, who led the Saints with 19 in the double overtime semifinal win over Hamilton on Friday, had three assists, two blocked shots and a steal to go with her 17 points and nine rebounds. Lauren Sischo was the third Saint in double figures with 10 points, five rebounds and three steals.

The game was tight throughout with neither team leading by more than four points in the first half. Palmer made two free throws and had a steal in the final minute of the half as the Saints went into intermission up 25-22.

William Smith built a five point lead on a steal and a layup by Paula Foote just over two minutes into the second half, but Wolff hit a three pointer and then fed Palmer for a layup to tie it again at 32-32 just over a minute later.

The Herons built five point leads four times in the first ten minutes of the second half, but the Saints kept battling back.

Kim Sikule’s layup with 2:38 to go tied the game for the eighth time at 53-53 and the Saints took the lead for good when Wolff canned two foul shots with 1:31 to play. Palmer put back her own rebound to make it 57-53 with 56 seconds to go and the Saints salted it away at the foul line, making five of six in the final 47 seconds for the nine point win.

Foote led the Herons with 19 points while Marisa Vespa added 11.