Annie Perry and Molly Keaveney had 10 and nine points respectively off the bench as the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team survived a late run from the Plattsburgh State Cardinals, winning 64-60 Tuesday night in Plattsburgh, N.Y.

The win boosts the Saints record to 4-0, starting the season with four straight wins for the first time since the 2021-22 campaign. 

"We had a lot of breakdowns in the first quarter of the game and then we were more solid the rest of the way and slowly battled back from our early deficit," said Saints head coach Dan Roiger.

"Our top scorer was limited by foul trouble today, but we had our bench step up big and play huge minutes. We ended up outscoring their bench 32-6. When you play back to back games every weekend for weeks in a row, you must have the depth to get through the fatigue, the injuries, and the illnesses every team faces over the course of a year."

The Cardinals started off hot from the field, and quickly got out to a 12-4 lead halfway through the first quarter. In the late stages of the quarter, Plattsburgh drained a three-pointer to go up 19-8. However, the Saints scored the last five points of the quarter to make the game 19-13.

The Saints kept up the momentum at the start of the second quarter, getting within two points early. The middle part of the second quarter saw the Cardinals leading throughout, but St. Lawrence kept it within one or two possessions.

With Plattsburgh leading 28-24 with 3:55 to go in the half, Jackie Malley hit a three and then two free throws by Perry gave the Saints the lead for the first time in the game, 29-28. The score was 33-33 at halftime.

The Cardinals started the third quarter by scoring the first four points but then the Saints responded with a 7-0 run to take a 40-37 lead with 5:37 left in the quarter. The Saints were in control for the later stages of the quarter, holding Plattsburgh to just 11 points in the quarter. Keaveney had two three pointers in the quarter and the Saints had a 50-44 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

The fourth quarter saw multiple momentum swings. With the score at 50-48, the Saints offense really got it going the next few minutes, going on an 13-2 run in just over a three minute span, with Norah Niesz leading the Saints with five points during this run as the Saints' lead ballooned to 63-50 with four minutes left.

The Cardinals then proceeded to storm back into the game, using the next two-and-a-half minutes to go on a 10-0 run and get within one possession 63-60 with 1:25 remaining. It came down to the last two possessions, but the Saints held off Plattsburgh.

McCarney was the leading scorer among the starters with 10 points while Malley had nine points and six rebounds.
The Saints will be back in action next weekend, participating in the four-team Westfield Gas and Electric Tip-Off Tournament starting on Friday, November 22 against Wellesley College in Westfield, Mass.