First-year Olivia Middleton recorded a career-best 20 points, shooting 4-for-9 from the arc, while Ava McCann and Annabella Pugliese added 15 points each to lead the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team to a 66-59 win over Colby College on Friday evening in New London, New Hampshire.

Middleton also went 4-for-4 from the line and added five rebounds, four assists and three steals for the Saints. Olivia Barringer recorded a team-best nine rebounds, while Katie Frederick grabbed seven and totaled three blocks.

Middleton sunk her first 3-pointer of the night to give the Saints an early lead over the Mules and after four lead changes, the Scarlet and Brown held a 12-10 lead after the first 10 minutes of play.

The Saints continued to maintain their edge over Colby, leading 24-21 at halftime.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from McCann and Middleton increased the Saints lead to double digits with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter. Colby managed to bring the game back within five (41-36), heading into the final quarter.

The Mules took a 48-47 lead on a jumper from Carly Christofori, but the Saints quickly regained control and held onto the lead for their first win of the season.

"That was a hard fought win," said head coach Dan Roiger. "Both teams were going after one another for 40 minutes. Every time we got some separation they came back, and every time they came back, we had an answer. In the first half we did some good things offensively, but didn't make shots. In the second half, we did and then made some big free throws to finish the game. It was a real nice improvement in several areas from last weekend. Another opportunity for us to grow tomorrow."

Ainsley Burns led Colby with 17 points, while Christofori recorded a team-high 12 rebounds and eight assists and Jane MacKerron finished with two blocks.

The Saints shot 35.7 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free-throw line, while the Mules shot 37.9 percent from the floor.

With the win, the Saints improved to 1-1 on the season, while Colby College fell to 0-1.

St. Lawrence will face Colby-Sawyer in the championship game of the Colby-Sawyer tournament, tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m.