37 second-half points from Union gave them a comeback win at Burkman Gymnasium Tuesday night, sending them to the Liberty League semifinals and eliminating the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team from the postseason.

"We played great basketball in the first half but were not able to sustain it in the second half," said Dan Roiger. "We ceased doing the things that worked for us and our nemesis, which is shooting, got us in the end. We struggled with our post defense and Union had their way in the fourth quarter."

In a match-up between fifth-seeded Union and fourth-seeded St. Lawrence, the Saints held the lead for the majority of the first 20 minutes. After building a 20-16 first quarter lead, the Saints went into the last minute of the half with a 34-26 lead. 

Jackie Malley drained a three-pointer with 45 seconds to go, and then Norah Niesz hit a corner buzzer-beating shot from the arc to give the Saints a 13-point advantage as the score was 40-27 at half time. 

Union was able to re-group in the second half and outscored the Saints 17-6 in the third quarter. The Saints made a few buckets early, but missed 15 straight shots at the end of the quarter and their lead was trimmed down to 46-44 going into the final stanza.

The Garnet Chargers took their first lead since 17-16 in the first quarter after draining two free throws with just over eight minutes remaining. The middle part of the quarter saw Union slowly build up their lead. With the Saints trailing 62-53 and 1:21 to go, Jackie Malley hit her fifth three-pointer of the game to give the Saints and the crowd some hope again. 

The Scarlet and Brown were forced to foul, and although Union only went 2-for-6 from the charity stripe the rest of the game, St. Lawrence was unable to convert on the other end of the court, leading to their six-point defeat. 



Malley was the only Saint in double figures, as she tallied 21 points. Regular season leading point-getter Elizabeth Flynn had 17 rebounds and five assists. Caelan McHarney also had five assists.  

Roiger said he thought the team played a good game of basketball.

"We outrebounded Union, we had a season-low seven turnovers, and we shot 85 per cent from the foul line," he said. "But sometimes when you play well and shoot awful, it doesn't look good, and that was us in the second half.  We shot 11 per cent in the last 19 minutes of the game. It wasn't just poor, it was fatal. You cannot win in the playoffs with those numbers. Credit to Union and I wish them well in the next round."

The Saints marked the second straight year being eliminated in the first round of the Liberty League playoffs, after an overtime loss to RPI last season on the road.