Potsdam, NY – Junior Alyssia Marsal and senior Ashley Loggins each posted double-doubles to help lead the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team to a 63-54 win over St. Lawrence in the Liberty League Semifinals Wednesday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights improved to 21-5 overall and will next host RIT on Saturday afternoon in the conference championship game for a right to represent the league in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. St. Lawrence saw its season come to a close at 16-10.

In the third meeting of the season, the Saints seemed to finally have found a way to reduce their turnovers against Clarkson, committing just five in the first half, though Clarkson utilized its full-court pressure very little in a nod to the press-breaking abilities of St. Lawrence guard Lauren Quattrocchi. The reduction of pressure allowed St. Lawrence to get into more of a rhythm on offense as the team shot 12-for-26 from the floor (46.2%). The Saints scored the first basket of the game and while Clarkson tied it shortly thereafter, St. Lawrence led for the rest of the half. Clarkson pulled to within one on three occasions, including early on in the second quarter, but the Quattrocchi hit the game's first 3-pointer on the Saints' next possession and St. Lawrence held at least a two-point lead for the rest of the half. The lead expanded to seven (26-19) on a Shayna Davner 3-pointer, and while a Madison Shea 3-pointer got Clarkson back within four, the Saints were able to head into the locker room up by seven when Kaelyn Kohlasch hit another long distance shot with 43 seconds left to put the margin at 29-22.

Shea finished the first half with nine points, going 4-for-4 from the field, but the rest of the Knights shot only 5-for-24, though Alyssia Marsal did produced six points and five boards in the opening 20 minutes. For St. Lawrence, Quattrocchi scored seven points, missing only once in her four attempts, while Carolina Dalton chipped in six points and three rebounds.

St. Lawrence went up by as many as eight early in the third quarter, but Clarkson changed tactics, ratcheting up the defensive pressure to force the Saints into a handful of turnovers that seemed to spark the Golden Knights on offense. Down by six points early in the third quarter (35-29), Clarkson scored the next nine points to take its first lead of the game, capped off by a 3-pointer from Devin Sorell. Though St. Lawrence would come back to tie the game three more times, the Saints would never lead again thanks to 23 third-quarter points by Clarkson, more than the Knights produced in the first half.

In the fourth quarter, Caroline Dalton hit a 3-pointer at the 6:54 mark to pull the Saints within two (50-48), but that was as close as St. Lawrence would get. Sorell made a layup and Stephanie Grobe hit a jumper to extend the lead to seven for Clarkson. St. Lawrence would pull back within four on another 3-pointer from Dalton, but Clarkson picked up key offensive rebounds in the final two minutes and made five free throws down the stretch to clinch the win.

After a quiet first half, Loggins recorded 13 points and eight rebounds in the second half to finish with another double-double, closing the game with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four steals. Marsal hit the offensive glass hard with seven boards at the Clarkson end, and finished with career-highs of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Devin Sorell hit five straight shots to open the second half after her own slow start, scoring 14 of her 16 points in the final 20 minutes, including all four of her 3-pointers. For St. Lawrence, Caroline Dalton finished with a game-high 18 points, going 6-for-11 overall and 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. Lauren Quattrocchi ended the game with 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.