SAINTS DOWN GOLDEN FLYERS, 64-34

Nov. 25: Senior guard Jamie Wolff led the St. Lawrence University women’s basketball team with 16 points as the Saints dominated Nazareth College, 64-34, in non-conference play in Rochester, NY Sunday afternoon.  

The game started out slow for both teams as it took nearly two minutes for anyone to get on the scoreboard, but the Saints’ junior Katie Palmer put St. Lawrence up there first after a jump shot 1:42 into the game and the Scarlet and Brown never relinquished the lead to the Golden Flyers from that point forward.  

Nazareth was persistent in attempting to break past a strong Saints’ defense and was able to keep the Saints within striking distance for the first ten minutes of play, but were plagued with turnovers as St. Lawrence managed to steal the ball back into their possession.  

With 9:38 remaining in the first half, sophomore Brittany Parham had two good shots from the line to give the Saints a 15-8 lead. St. Lawrence’s momentum picked up in the last nine minutes of the half, outscoring the Golden Flyers 19-7 before halftime and shooting 100% from the free throw line. St. Lawrence junior Jenna Krzemien scored the final points of the first half to give the Saints a generous 34-15 lead as the period ended.  

It would only take 18 seconds for senior Kim Sikule to score on a layup for the Saints in the second half, giving them a 21-point lead to begin the period. A three-pointer from Wolff increased that lead to 24 with 18:50 remaining in the game. Nazareth was able to bring the St. Lawrence lead down to 20 after two good layups from Lizzie Barlow and Ali Sharpe, and two good free throws from Sharpe.  

Wolff was successful from within the paint as she made a layup with 13:33 left give the Saints a 47-23 lead. The captain from Buffalo, NY spurred a 13-2 run for St. Lawrence, as Sikule made a layup to give the Saints a 35 point lead with 8:04 left, bringing the score to 60-25. The Golden Flyers’ posted nine points in the final eight minutes of the contest, while the Saints had four, ending the game with a 64-34 victory.  

Three Saints scored in the double digits, including Palmer, who tallied 14 points in only 20 minutes of play and also had two assists. The Bourne, MA guard also tallied a game-high of five steals, along with Wolff. Krzemien had ten points, five rebounds, and three steals, while Sikule had a team-high of six total rebounds.  

St. Lawrence had much success with free throws, as senior Amy Fortener, junior Lauren Sischo, and Parham were all perfect from the line, while Wolff was 3-for-4.  

The Saints, now 3-1 overall, will travel to Plattsburgh, NY on Tuesday to play the SUNY Plattsburgh Cardinals. The tip-off is set for 6:00pm.

POTSDAM EDGES SAINTS IN HOME OPENER, 57-55

Nov. 20: In what turned out to be a true North Country battle from beginning to end, the St. Lawrence women’s basketball team fell to SUNY Potsdam on Tuesday night in the Saints’ home opener in Burkman Gymnasium, 57-55.

The first half was slow moving, as both teams struggled from the field with the Saints shooting 7-for-25 and the Bears 7-for-26. St. Lawrence was able to maintain a slight lead until the middle of the period, when the Bears’ Cortney Poirer made two free throws to give Potsdam a slight 13-11 lead with 6:49 remaining in the half. The Bears would maintain that lead until only 1:10 was left before halftime, when Saints’ junior Katie Palmer made a layup to put the Saints up 20-19. Palmer made another layup 31 seconds later to help give St. Lawrence a 22-19 lead as the teams headed into halftime.

In the second half, the Bears’ Hannah Fairchild was key as she was 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. She made a three-pointer 17 seconds into the half to tie the game, and the Bears overtook the Saints once again after a layup by Rachel Graf. The Saints put pressure on Potsdam’s defense and was able to keep the lead within reach and took it from Potsdam after senior captain Jamie Wolff sunk a three-pointer from beyond the arc. Fairchild quickly responded for the Bears, shooting another key three-pointer to put the Bears ahead 31-29 with 14:46 remaining.

The Bears’ lead grew to 13 with 7:35 left after Maureen Curley made two shots from the line to give Potsdam a decisive 46-33 advantage. The Saints would rally in the remaining minutes, out-shooting the Bears 19-9 and bringing the score within three, 55-52, with under a minute remaining on the clock.

With 30 seconds left, Fairchild missed a three-pointer for the Bears and the Saints grabbed the rebound and ran the offense. Junior Lauren Sischo spotted Wolff, who was just outside the arc, and got the ball to the Buffalo, NY guard who made the three-pointer with only 5.5 seconds left on the clock to tie the game, 55-55 and bring the crowd to its feet.

A Potsdam player took the ball out of bounds and accidentally stepped back on the court after a time-out was called, giving St. Lawrence possession. After the Bears had their final time out, the Saints brought the ball back in bounds and played it to Jenna Kzemien. The ball was knocked away from the junior forward, who then lunged towards the ball and fouled, bringing Poirer to the line for the Bears for two with only two seconds left.

Poirer made both shots to make the score 57-55, and with no time outs remaining, the Saints had the rebound and were forced to make a half court shot at the buzzer that didn’t make it through the net, giving the Bears their first win of the season.

In the second half, the Saints had much success from the line, as they shot 12-for-13. Krzemien led in points with 15 and was 9-for-12 in free throws, while Palmer had 14 and Sischo tallied 12.

St. Lawrence, now 2-1, will travel to Rochester, NY to face Nazareth College on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 2:00pm.