STANTON EARNS CONFERENCE

ROOKIE HONORS

Feb. 4: First-year Abby Stanton was named Liberty League “Co-Rookie of the Week” by Monday after an impressive performance in the St. Lawrence women’s basketball team’s loss to William Smith on Saturday.

Stanton (Avon, NY/Avon Central) tied her career-high when she posted 13 points in 18 minutes, shooting 5-for-6 from the field, including one from behind the arc, and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. She also scored 13 points against conference opponent Vassar on January 26 th, her first double-digit game as a Saint.

The Saints, who are 14-4 overall and 4-3 in the Liberty League, will travel to Clarkson University Tuesday evening to take on the Golden Knights for the second time this season. In their first meeting in January, the Saints defeated Clarkson, 70-48. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00pm in Potsdam, NY.

SAINTS FALL TO NO. 16 WILLIAM SMITH, 75-67

Feb. 2: Five members of the St. Lawrence University women’s basketball team scored in double digits but it wasn’t enough to lift the Saints past Liberty League opponent William Smith, as the Herons defeated St. Lawrence 75-67 Saturday afternoon in Geneva, NY.

The Saints are now 14-4 overall and 4-3 in the Liberty League and are currently tied for third place in the conference heading into the second half of Liberty League play. Meanwhile, William Smith, who was recently ranked 16 th in a number of national polls, snagged their 13 th straight win to improve their overall record to 16-1 and their conference record to 7-0.

While St. Lawrence was able to keep it a tight game, the Herons did not want to relinquish any lead they had, as William Smith increased their first half lead to as many as eight before the Saints would go on a 7-0 tear to make it a one point game. The Scarlet and Brown earned their first lead of the half with 6:52 on the clock after a lay-up from first year Abby Stanton ( Avon, NY/Avon Central) to give them a 23-22 edge over the Herons.

William Smith would quickly regain a slight advantage and hold on to it until the final seconds of the half when senior co-captain Jamie Wolff (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy) made a lay-up to give the Saints an exciting 35-34 lead with 23 seconds left, which they were able to hold on to until the buzzer.

A much more persistent Saint squad came onto the court for the final 20 minutes as they were able to hold on to their lead throughout most of the first 15 minutes, which included a game-high 10 point lead with 12:17 to go. The Herons were unable to be contained as they went on a 16-5 run to tie the game 60-60 with 6:05 left in the contest. Stanton shot two from the line to give the Saints their last lead before William Smith’s Latasha Coney shot a three to spark nine unanswered points, and with that, the Herons battled throughout the final moments to come away with a 75-67 win.

Wolff led the Saints’ offense with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Stanton repeated her performance from last weekend, tying her career-high 13 points in a game. Stanton shot 5-for-6 from the field, which included a shot from beyond the arc, and was also perfect from the line, shooting 2-for-2 in only 18 minutes on the court.

Also scoring in the double digits included junior Lauren Sischo (Rodman, NY/South Jefferson) who accumulated 11 points, while classmate Katie Palmer (Bourne, MA/Falmouth Academy) and senior co-captain Kim Sikule both posted 10 a piece.

St. Lawrence will travel to Clarkson University on Tuesday night for their second meeting of the 2007-2008 season. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00pm.

SAINTS FALL TO HAMILTON IN OVERTIME, 64-59

Feb. 1: After 65 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.