CANTON, N.Y. - Katie Frederick had 22 points and 18 rebounds, Ava McCann scored 19 points and the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team used a big second quarter to gain control on its way to defeating Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) 66-52 in a Liberty League contest. The Saints improve to 11-1 overall and 5-1 in the conference, while the Engineers fall to 3-8 and 2-4.
Leading 13-12 early in the second frame, St. Lawrence went on a 9-0 run to build a 22-12 edge midway through the quarter. Olivia Middleton had five of the nine points and Frederick scored four before RPI's
Marley Mueller broke the string with a free throw. The teams traded baskets for the next three minutes before McCann hit a three-pointer with 1:44 left for a 14-point lead (36-22). RPI pulled to within 10 points at the half, 37-27, with the help of five points from
Nicole DaPra.
After McCann made it 40-27 to start the second half,
Ashlyn O'Neil hit two shots to pull Rensselaer within nine points and then she countered a pair of Saints baskets with two more of her own, including a trey, to get the visitors within seven points, 43-36. The Engineers remained within three possessions until there was less than a minute to play in the third when a McCann three made it 55-42 heading to the fourth. The margin remained double digits throughout the final quarter.
O'Neil, coming off a career-high 19 points on Friday, finished with a team-high 15 points, along with seven rebounds. DaPra had 11 points with four assists and
Heather Converse contributed nine points and five rebounds.
Frederick made 10 of 14 shots on her way to game-high honors. Of her 18 caroms, six came on the offensive end and she added two assists, two steals and two blocked shots. McCann made seven shots from the field, including five three-pointers, to register her 19 points. Both she and Frederick played 28 minutes for the Saints, who had a 51-32 rebounding advantage.
RPI returns to action on Friday when it hosts Vassar College in a conference game at 5:30pm at the UHY Center on the campus of Siena College. St. Lawrence plays at Clarkson University on Tuesday at 5:30pm.
