Jackie Malley reached a historic milestone on Saturday, eclipsing the 1,000-point mark for her career despite the St. Lawrence women's basketball team falling 60-56 to William Smith.
Malley anchored the Saints' effort with a double-double, recording 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. The win was William Smith's first conference victory of the season, as they improved to 1-7. St. Lawrence does maintain an above .500 record in the conference, though, holding a 4-3 Liberty League record and 9-5 overall.
The Herons jumped out to an early lead, but the Saints responded through exceptional efficiency at the charity stripe. St. Lawrence netted 12 of their 18 first-quarter points from the free-throw line, allowing them to enter the second frame tied 18-18. However, the Saints' offense cooled in the second quarter, totaling only 10 points. William Smith capitalized with a trio of three-pointers to take a 33-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.
After falling behind by 12 points midway through the third quarter, the Scarlet and Brown began to chip away at the Heron defense. Despite short possessions and a lack of offensive boards, successful layups and consistent free throws allowed the Saints to narrow the gap to 49-42 heading into the final ten minutes.
Early in the fourth quarter, Malley stepped to the line needing just one more point to reach the millennium mark. She sunk her second free throw to officially join an elite group of St. Lawrence women's basketball players. The gym erupted as fans celebrated the achievement with posters and cheers for the senior standout.
The Saints continued their surge late in the game, narrowing the deficit to a single point. However, ongoing struggles from the field forced St. Lawrence to foul down the stretch, and William Smith iced the victory with three successful free throws in the final 20 seconds.
Stevie Bannon matched Malley with 13 points of her own, while
Hannah Van Dyke contributed nine rebounds in the hard-fought contest.
Following a midweek break, the team will return to action next weekend for a crucial conference road trip against the RIT Tigers on Friday and the Ithaca Bombers on Saturday.
