Saints Recover from First Half Shooting Woes to Down Clarkson

Carey Turner recorded a double-double against St. Lawrence with 11 points and 14 rebounds - photo by Gary Mikel

Potsdam, NY – After shooting better than 50 percent from the floor, a season-high, against Vassar on Saturday, the Clarkson University Women’s Basketball team came crashing back to earth in tough 60-39 loss to St. Lawrence on Tuesday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights fell to 5-15 overall and 2-8 in the Liberty League, while St. Lawrence improved to 16-4 and 7-3 in conference games.

Neither team shot particularly well in the early going, and that would turn out to be routine through the first 20 minutes. St. Lawrence shot just 30.0 percent from the floor (9-for-30), but they were lights out compared to Clarkson, which shot only 17.1 percent (6-for-35). Part of that difficulty came from the Saints’ interior players as St. Lawrence had six blocked shots. Even with the tough shooting performance, Clarkson found itself down by just six at the half by limiting its turnovers (five) and limiting St. Lawrence’s second chances (seven offensive rebounds).

St. Lawrence’s Kelly Legg nearly recorded a double-double in the first half with 10 points and nine rebounds, and also blocked three shots. For Clarkson, Chrissy Scanlon (Queensbury, NY) had six points, four rebounds, and two blocks in 14 minutes, while Lauren Pluchino (Liverpool, NY) had five points, but committed three fouls.

In the second half, the Knights remained cold and fell behind as St. Lawrence came out with renewed enthusiasm, running out to a 17-2 run with an 11-1 rebound edge in the first seven minutes of the last period. While the Saints pounded the ball inside, Clarkson had no answer on offense or defense. It wasn’t until a late push that Clarkson was able to increase its shooting percentage to above 20 percent, and by that point the Saints had a comfortable advantage that would not be overcome.

Legg finished with a firm double-double, scoring 16 points with 15 rebounds to lead St. Lawrence. No other player finished in double figures for the Saints, but Iris Santoni and Casey Capello each gathered eight points. Clarkson’s Carey Turner (Clifton Park, NY) nearly matched Legg’s double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. Chrissy Scanlon tossed in 10 points in 24 minutes for the Knights.

Print Friendly Version