Elizabeth Flynn recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds, but the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team fell 61-55 to the Skidmore Thoroughbreds Friday night in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. 

The Saints will head into their final regular season game with a 15-9 overall record and a 9-8 mark in Liberty League play. Having clinched a place in the Liberty League playoffs last Saturday, the Saints will finish as either the five or six seed in the conference playoff bracket. 

"We did not play well enough for 40 minutes to beat a playoff team tonight," said Saints head coach Dan Roiger. "We figured it out at the end but we were in such a big hole that we couldn't get out of it. We dug the hole with turnovers and our inability to box out shooters. And we kept digging deeper for far too long tonight. It was disappointing to see."

The Thoroughbreds got off to a fast start by scoring the first seven points of the game and the Saints fell behind by three possessions just two minutes in. St. Lawrence trimmed the Skidmore lead to 9-7 after a three pointer by Norah Niesz, but Skidmore got back out in front by multiple possessions immediately after.

The defense by the home team remained solid for the rest of the quarter, and the Saints trailed 16-11 after the first 10 minutes. A couple minutes into the second quarter, Mason Baker-Schlendering got a jumper to drop the Skidmore lead to 18-16. However, the Thoroughbreds got rolling with five minutes left in the first half, going on a 10-0 run to expand their lead to a baker's dozen, 32-19, with 3:26 left to go.

Caelan McHarney, Baker-Schlendering, and Niesz all scored late in the second quarter, but the Saints still found themselves behind 36-25 at halftime with Niesz leading the Saints with eight points. 

A mid-range jumper by Niesz and followed by a three from Malley to open the third quarter got the game to within 36-30 with 7:30 left in the quarter. But Skidmore responded once again with another 10-0 run, earning a 16 point lead and holding St. Lawrence scoreless for over six minutes during their spurt. Annie Perry had a couple of free throws towards the end of the quarter, but the Saints trailed 46-32 heading into the final 10 minutes.

The Scarlet and Brown  opened the fourth quarter strong, scoring the first six points with four of these from Elizabeth Flynn and a bucket from Baker-Schlendering. Despite this, the Saints couldn't sustain the momentum as the Thoroughbreds got the lead back out to double figures, going up 49-38 with 7:37 to go. The middle segment of the half was evenly played between the two teams with Skidmore leading between eight and 10 points. With 2:08 to go, Flynn got a layup to drop and the Saints were down 57-51. St. Lawrence got the stops they needed on the defensive end, although a couple turnovers in the following two possessions prevented the Saints from getting the points they required and the Thoroughbreds went on to defeat the Saints for the sixth straight time. 

Niesz and Baker-Schlendering each contributed 10 points to put three Saints in double-digits for the day. McHarney had eight rebounds for second on the team behind Flynn and led St. Lawrence with five assists. Despite similar shooting numbers for the two teams and the Saints out rebounding the Thoroughbreds 42-33, the Saints committed 20 turnovers which led to 22 points from Skidmore, while St. Lawrence got only six points off turnovers. 

The Saints will conclude the regular season with a visit to the RPI Engineers tomorrow, February 22 with a 2 p.m. scheduled tip. A win will solidify St. Lawrence as the five seed in the Liberty League playoffs, while a Saints loss and a Union win will bump the Saints down to the six seed. If both those teams win or both lose, the Saints win claim the five and Union the six.