Jackie Malley's 23 points led the way for the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team, as they defeated the Clarkson Golden Knights 68-55 at home in the Route 11 Rivalry on Monday afternoon.

Malley and Annie Perry led the Saints offensively with Perry adding 15 points. With the win, St. Lawrence moved to 2-1 in Liberty League play, sitting just above .500 in the conference standings. They are now 7-3 overall.

"I liked our game in the second half," said Saints head coach Dan Roiger. "I was disappointed with our mental effort in the first half. We played sloppy at the end of both quarters, allowed Clarkson to play to their offensive strengths in making triples, and took poor shots inside the arc where we were 4-19 shooting."

"In the second half, especially the third quarter, we really honed in on the offensive end and executed well. We made the extra pass, sometimes several of them, and finished with a great 21 assists to only 8 turnovers ratio.  We still have a lot to work on, but with our beat-up roster we are still finding a way to make things work out."

That aforementioned third quarter saw the Saints pick up 26 points, ultimately pulling the Golden Knights out of reach and allowed them to cruise through the fourth quarter
.
Perry opened the game with back-to-back three-pointers to give the Saints an early 6-0 lead. Clarkson responded by keeping the margin close, scoring all 12 of its first-quarter points from beyond the arc. Bella Doyle accounted for half of those points with two three-pointers. St. Lawrence received five points off the bench from Margaret Dougher and a three-pointer from Norah Niesz, taking an 18-12 lead into the second quarter.

The Saints continued to build momentum in the second quarter. Hannah Van Dyke recorded two assists and added a layup as St. Lawrence extended its advantage. The Saints went into halftime leading 30-23.

Clarkson scored first in the third quarter, but Mason Baker-Schlendering answered with a jumper on the next possession. St. Lawrence outscored the Golden Knights 7-6 over the first two minutes of the quarter. Perry knocked down her third three-pointer of the game to reach 12 points, while Malley added to the long-range shooting, finishing with four three-pointers on the afternoon.

In the fourth quarter, Van Dyke pushed the lead to 58-43 with a jumper, and Dougher capped the Saints' scoring with a three-pointer as St. Lawrence secured the 13-point victory.



In addition to Malley and Perry, Dougher posted 10 off the bench. Niesz and Van Dyke each dished out five assists. In addition to that, Van Dyke added two steals and Baker-Schlendering joined her in the team lead with two steals of her own.

Roiger also lauded his leadership group for making adjustments and competing.

"Jackie played great today, and really took leadership in the second half, and made some excellent plays for us today when we needed her. Every game we have people playing new positions, but they are battling and finding ways to keep competing, I love it!"

The Saints will continue Liberty League play this weekend with a road series against Bard College and Vassar College. St. Lawrence will face Bard on Friday, Jan. 9 at 5:30 p.m. before taking on Vassar on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 2 p.m.