Jackie Malley had a game-winning and-one layup with one second left in overtime to give the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team a thrilling 59-56 Senior Day victory over the Union Garnet Chargers Saturday afternoon in Burkman Gymnasium.

The win boosts the Saints up to a tie for fifth place in the Liberty League with Union as both teams have a 9-7 record in conference play. However, with two victories over the Garnet Chargers this year, the Saints would own that tie breaker should the teams match records at the end of the regular season.

"That was a very tough game today, there was not a lot of offensive efficiency. A Liberty League Saturday game," said Saints head coach Dan Roiger. "Union is a good offensive team and we lost our aggressiveness for a while and then found it again in the fourth quarter. We've been a good free throw team this year but not today, and we had to grind away in overtime. I thought getting the initial lead was important in OT, but we still made it tough by missing free throws to put them away. Jackie just made a great tough play at the end!"

Roiger also had a nod to his two seniors, Caelan McHarney and Nicole Jeffrey, as they were honored in a pre-game ceremony.
 
"I was really happy for Nicole and Caelan to clinch a playoff spot needing a win on senior day. That's special!  Congratulations to both of them for their contributions today and for their careers as Saints."

Despite the Garnet Chargers going up 4-1 in the first two minutes of the game, the Saints responded well on both ends of the floor to dominate the remainder of the quarter.

In the next six minutes, the Saints went on an extended 18-2 run with Norah Niesz and Mason Baker-Schlendering scoring six points each in this span while the Garnet Chargers were 1-for-12 on field goals. This gave St. Lawrence a 13-point lead in the first quarter and after a Union bucket in the final minute, the Saints controlled a 19-8 lead after the first.

In the second quarter, the Garnet Chargers ramped up their defense but neither team shot well, with Union going 3-for-16 and St. Lawrence at 3-for-17. The Garnet Chargers did close the gap slightly though, and the Saints led 21-17 with 2:34 left in the half. The Saints did score the final five points of the half with a three by Niesz and a jumper by Baker-Schlendering to bring their lead back up to 26-17 at the half. Niesz canned three three-pointers in the first half and led the way with nine points.

The Garnet Chargers were in complete control in the third quarter, forcing turnovers and tough shots from St. Lawrence. They were able to tie the game at 32 with just over two minutes remaining and then went on to take the lead in the final minutes, outscoring St. Lawrence 18-6 in the quarter and leading 35-32 heading into the final 10 minutes.

The final quarter was back-and-forth with no team leading by more than three points. Late in the quarter, the Saints trailed 47-44 with three minutes left. After neither team could capitalize on a few possessions, McHarney got a jumper to fall with 1:26 left to bring the game to 47-46. The next possession McHarney was fouled and made one of two from the line to tie it at 47 with 33 seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime.

St. Lawrence got out to a 53-50 lead after a Malley three pointer with 2:25 left in the fifth stanza, but the Garnet Chargers scored the next four to take their first lead in overtime with 51 seconds left.
The Saints continued to drive the ball offensively which resulted in two Union fouls and three free throws to give the Saints a 56-54 lead with 14 seconds left. Just seven seconds later, Union was able to hit a jumper to tie the game.

In the final seconds, the Scarlet and Brown found Malley in the corner. With the clock ticking down, the 2022-23 Liberty League Rookie of the Year drove it baseline and got a layup to drop, drawing a foul in the process. Malley made her free throw and with one second left, the Garnet Chargers were unable to tie the game.



Niesz led the Saints with 14 points and Malley had 12 points with eight of these coming in overtime. Mason Baker-Schlendering set two career-highs with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Elizabeth Flynn recorded a season-high 17 boards. McCarney chipped in with nine points, nine rebounds, and three assists.

The Saints will have two more games on the regular season schedule, both of which will be played next weekend on the road. They will start with the RPI Engineers on Friday, February 21, who knocked off the Saints in Burkman 73-65 in their first matchup.