Sophomore Ava McCann shot an impressive 7-for-12 from the arc and recorded a season-high 23 points, leading the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team, who combined for 50 percent from 3-point range, to defeat RIT 69-56 in Liberty League action on Friday night in Burkman Gymnasium.

St. Lawrence improved to 10-5 on the season and moved into fourth place in the league standings at 6-2 in conference play, while RIT fell to 6-9 and 4-4.

Following McCann, Katie Frederick notched her eighth double-double of the season with 12 points and a team-best 13 rebounds, while Olivia Middleton also added 12 points. Frederick also posted two blocks, while Middleton totaled five assists and two steals.

The Saints got off to a hot start with a 3-pointer from Dylan Watkiss to open the game. The Tigers took a brief lead, but the Saints battled on a 12-2 run to take a 21-12 lead after the first quarter.

St. Lawrence continued to extend its double-digit lead, going up by 19 points on free throws from McCann with 4:55 to play in the half. The Saints outshot the Tigers 18-11 in the second frame to take a 39-23 halftime lead.

The Saints doubled up on the Tigers, shooting 62.5 percent from the arc and outscoring RIT 21-11 in the third, pulling ahead to a 60-34 lead.

 In an attempt to rally, the Tigers outshot the Saints 22-9 in the fourth quarter, but we unable to overcome the early deficit.

"We had an amazing night of shooting the basketball," said head coach Dan Roiger. "But it all came down to taking great shots and making excellent reads and passes that led to open players. Our defense was outstanding for the first three quarters. RIT has some outstanding offensive players and we really locked down their offense for an extended period of time. It was a good team win and we have to bounce back and play tomorrow against another really solid team and that's the Liberty League."



Sabrina Wolfe shot 5-for-12 from the floor and led the Tigers with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Alyssa Juergens finished with 13 points and Sara Nijssen added eight. Wolfe also finished with four assists and two steals.

St. Lawrence also shot 46.4 percent from the floor and held the Tigers to 34.8 percent. The Saints totaled 22 points off the bench and 14 points off turnovers.

The Saints will host William Smith, tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. in Burkman Gymnasium.