St. Lawrence University Athletics

First-year Dylan Watkiss recorded 12 points and after a game-long back-and-forth battle the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team topped nationally-ranked No. 24 Montclair State, 46-44, on day one of the Rose City Classic on Saturday night in Montclair, New Jersey.

Watkiss led the Saints with 12 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Katie Frederick posted 11 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Frederick also added two blocks, while Marlee Gunn grabbed two steals for the Scarlet and Brown.

Watkiss opened scoring for the Saints with a 3-pointer, but the Red Hawks took an early lead over the Saints with a 13-9 advantage after the first ten minutes of play.

Erin Kumler gave the Saints their first lead of the second quarter on a jump shot at 6:45. The Saints continued to rally in the second, outscoring Montclair State 14-7 and edging the Red Hawks 23-20 at the break.

After a low scoring third quarter and a close margin for error, both teams applied full pressure heading into the fourth quarter and final ten minutes.

After three lead changes to open the fourth quarter, the Saints went 5-for-5 from the line down the stretch and Taylor Brown landed a last minute 3-pointer for the Red Hawks, but time would expire, securing the Saints 46-44 edge for their second straight win of the season.

"Tonight was a big win for us," said head coach Dan Roiger. "Montclair State is a very good team with lots of experience and savvy to rely on. We played excellent defense on the road, battled hard all game long and I was impressed by the composure we exhibited in the final quarter. Montclair made a great run and every time we needed to answer, we did. We definitely grew from week one to this week."
 
"Tomorrow we get tested again against a really good Albertus Magnus team that is averaging 91 points a game," Roiger continued. "We will see if we can keep it close after a short rest period."

Cerys MacLelland went 5-for-12 from the floor to lead the Red Hawks with 12 points and four rebounds, while Rylee Mulligan and Alex McKinnon added nine and eight points, respectively. Brown, Domonique Wirsing and Kayla Bush each grabbed six rebounds for Montclair State.

With the win, the Saints improved to 2-0 on the season, while Montclair State fell to 1-1.

St. Lawrence will face Albertus Magnus in the Rose City Classic championship game tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m.