Annabella Pugliese,
Chelsea Van Tassel and
Katie Frederick all recorded a double-double and the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team led for 35 minutes, but the Albertus Magnus Falcons topped the Saints, 57-52, in the Rose City Classic championship game on Sunday afternoon in Montclair, New Jersey.
Pugliese finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Van Tassel also added 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, as they both posted their first double-double of the season.
Katie Frederick recorded 11 points and 12 rebounds for her second double-double in three games. Van Tassel picked up two steals for the Saints, while Pugliese,
Dylan Watkiss and
Marlee Gunn all added two assists.
St. Lawrence jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on a 3-pointer from Pugliese and free throws from Van Tassel. The Falcons quickly evened the score, but it was the Saints that took a slight 14-13 lead after one quarter of play.
After two more ties, the Saints created a 7-2 run and maintained a 31-26 advantage at the half.
Gunn extended the Saints lead to five points going 1-for-2 from the line with 7:14 to play in the third, but a layup from Rah Rah Thompson and a 3-pointer from Jill Johnson gave the Falcons a 38-35 advantage with just over five minutes to play.
The Saints battled back for the lead and tied the game twice more, as the score remained tied, 43-43, heading into the final quarter.
Three more ties would kick off the final frame before Johnson put the Falcons up by three with 4:28 remaining. Andreah Orr extended that lead to five (57-52) which would carry Albertus Magnus to the win.
"It was an excellent ball game today," said head coach
Dan Roiger. "But we came up short. We did what we wanted to do offensively, but we failed to capitalize on opportunities. We had lots of open shots on the interior and from the arc, but we shot so poorly we couldn't get a win. We held them 34 points below their season average but we couldn't make one out of four shots as a team and win the game. It was an excellent tournament, we got to play against two very good teams, which will be similar to our Liberty League competition this season."
Shyla Osmond led the Falcons with 23 points, while Johnson recorded a second-best 17. Thompson finished with nine points, a team-best 14 rebounds and posted two steals for Albertus Magnus.
St. Lawrence finished with 11 points off turnovers and 11 points off the bench and recorded 18 second-chance points. Osmond was named the tournament MVP and Frederick earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team for the Saints.
With the loss, the Saints fell to 2-1 on the season, while the Falcons improved to 3-0.
St. Lawrence will take a break for Thanksgiving Break and will return to host Plattsburgh State in its home opener on Tuesday, November 27. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
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