CANTON, NY -- Kelly Legg scored 16 points and completed the double double with 11 rebounds to lead top seed St. Lawrence to a 56-55 win over Union in a Liberty League Semifinal victory at Burkman Gymnasium Wednesday night. The Saints, 21-4 overall, will host Vassar Saturday, as the Brewers downed RPI, 56-51.
Erica Spera scored 11 and Maddy Wetterhan added nine for the Saints, who shot 32% for the night. Union held the Saints to 1-12 shooting from three point land.
Kate Thompson scored 10 points for the Dutchwomen, the fourth straight double figure scoring game for the freshman.
Kristin Schmidt pulled down a career high 11 rebounds and
Mary Donohue added nine points. It was the final game of Donohue's career.
Brittney Kenney had six rebounds. Union shot 36% and outrebounded the Saints, 46-44.
The Saints held a one point lead at the half, 28-27. St. Lawrence shot just 26% in the first 20 minutes, but the Dutchwomen shot 50% from the line (7-14). The Saints had a 25-23 lead in the rebounding department at the break and were just one for nine in three pointers. Legg and Wetterhahn had nine points each for the hosts, while
Mary Donohue and
Shayla Madden scored seven points each. The largest lead in the half was five by the hosts. St. Lawrence led 8-4 at 16:54, but the Dutchwomen went on a 9-2 run in the next 6:40. Madden had five of those points, including a three pointer. But the Saints came back with a 7-0 run in a span of 2:13 for a 17-13 lead. The Saints were up five at 21-16 with 6:10 left. Donohue's layup with 1:34 left brought Union to within one at 28-27 and the defensive effort continued in the final minute for both squads, as they combined for seven rebounds in those final 94 seconds of the half. Legg had eight rebounds at the half.
After Thompson's layup gave Union a 31-30 lead with 18:33 left, the Saints took a run of 7-0 featuring four points and a steal by Spera for a 37-31 advantage at 15:57 that spurred a Union time out. The Saints got it up to eight on a Legg layup with 11:23 left for a 44-36 lead, but the Dutchwomen came back. In a span of 4:30, with Kenney scoring three and getting two rebounds, Union's run of 12-6 made it 50-48 St. Lawrence. Then
Kelsey McDonald hit a three from the left arc and the Saints called a time out with 4:31 left trailing by one, 51-50.
After an Iris Santoni layup, Thompson had a pair of free throws for a 53-52 lead and then a Donohue layup at 2:31 gave Union a 55-52 advantage. Legg hit at 2:08 and after a rebound the Saints got a layup by Spera at 1:19 for the 56-55 lead. Both teams traded posessions and Union had a timeout with 26 seconds to play. But the Saints forced the turnover with 15 seconds left. Legg missed a free throw at 13 and Kenney got the board, but with one second left under the Saints basket the Dutchwomen were defended and could not convert in the final second, losing the ball with 0.8 to play.
Rachel Beaulac, who was injured and did not play, joined Donohue in wrapping up the career at Union.
