Jackie Malley went an unconscious 6-10 from beyond the arc, and Elizabeth Flynn posted a monster double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds, helping the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team reach a landmark Friday night. They stormed back in the second half and locked up home court advantage in the Liberty League tournament with a 69-62 win over Rensselaer.

The win brings the Saints' record to 16-8 overall and 11-6 in league play, and will at least finish fourth in the conference, hosting a playoff game Tuesday night at Burkman Gymnasium. They are currently tied with Rensselaer for third entering the final game of the regular season against first-place Union Saturday.

"Our players knew a home playoff game was on the line and we were able to step up the defensive intensity to get us a win after a low energy start!" said Saints head coach Dan Roiger.

The Saints began the game trailing after the visiting Engineers showed no signs of bus legs, opening up an early 8-2 lead in the opening minutes. St. Lawrence trimmed it down to two, but then Siena Smith dropped five straight points to extend the lead to seven again. RPI tacked on a few more points before the quarter break and led the Saints 19-8 after the first.

That large lead was the Engineers' only won quarter. The Saints outscored them 20-16 in a high-scoring second quarter. Jackie Malley and Stevie Bannon contributed more than half of the Saints' offense combined, with Malley scoring six and Bannon posting five. The Saints still had some work to do heading to the locker room, however, trailing 35-28 at half.

Hannah Van Dyke came out with a big three-ball right off the hop in the third, then an Elizabeth Flynn layup got the Saints within two with 8:33 to play in the quarter. RPI engineered some points to keep the lead until around the three-minute mark, when Malley used the three-ball twice to pull St. Lawrence into a 43-43 tie. Bannon had a late layup to pull the Saints ahead after the third, 45-43. St. Lawrence outscored Rensselaer 17-8 in the quarter.



The fourth was also won by the Saints, as they padded their lead and took the game by seven points. Malley ended the game one point off her career-high, with 26 points. She added three rebounds and a block. Flynn's 15-15 day put her second in points and first in rebounds. Bannon had 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

St. Lawrence now hosts Union on Saturday in the final home game of the season. Tip off is slated for 2 p.m. at Burkman Gymnasium.