CANTON, N.Y. – Katie Frederick led the home team with 17 points and 19 rebounds as St. Lawrence University defeated Union College by a 69-56 score in Liberty League women's basketball action on Friday night at Ronald T. Berkman Gymnasium.
 
The loss eliminates Union (10-13, 7-10 Liberty League) from postseason contention, as the Dutchwomen will finish seventh in the conference. For St. Lawrence (17-7, 13-4 Liberty League), the Saints move into a tie for second place in the conference standings with one game to go.
 
Sophomore Amber Raisner had a strong second half for the visitors and finished the game leading all scorers with 18 points to go with five rebounds and four steals. Senior Elly Vaughan also reached double figures with 10 points, a game-high five assists and three boards.
 
After spotting the Saints the first five points of the game, Union responded with nine in a row to take a 9-5 lead at the midway point of the opening frame, with Raisner scoring five of those nine for the visitors. A three from senior Joana Santos helped Union head into the second stanza knotted up at 12.
 
St. Lawrence used an 11-2 run early in the second quarter to take a 23-16 lead with 6:25 remaining. Back-to-back buckets by freshman Megan Lee and Vaughan got Union within a basket in the final seconds before a last-second three made the score 30-25 at the half.
 
Union hung with St. Lawrence over the first 20 minutes despite shooting less than 29 percent (10 of 35) from the field, as the Dutchwomen forced 14 SLU turnovers and as a result earned 10 more shot attempts than their opponents.
 
The visitors made it a one-point game early in the third following a pair of free throws by sophomore Laura Vinton and a Vaughan jumper, but nine straight Saints points put the home team up by double digits for the first time. Counting that 9-0 run, St. Lawrence closed the third on a 16-2 run over the final 5:49 to take a 46-31 lead into the fourth.
 
Union made things interesting in the final few minutes, using a 13-4 run to get within seven (58-51) with 2:56 on the clock. However, SLU hit 9-of-10 free throw attempts over the final 2:09 to keep the Dutchwomen at bay.
 
The shooting did not get much better for the Dutchwomen in the second half, finishing the game at 28.6 percent (20 of 70), but again remained in the contest by forcing 24 turnovers. The number was the second-highest of the season for St. Lawrence, behind only the 26 forced by Union in their first meeting in December.
 
Union will close out the 2019-20 season tomorrow, when the Dutchwomen head to Clarkson University for a 2 p.m. tipoff with the Golden Knights.