X

McDuffee, Saints women's basketball rout RIT, 85-59

Posted 2/1/14

St. Lawrence University junior Kara McDuffee scored a career-high 28 points and added 10 rebounds as the Saints' women's basketball team scored a season-high point total and handed RIT an 85-59 …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

McDuffee, Saints women's basketball rout RIT, 85-59

Posted

St. Lawrence University junior Kara McDuffee scored a career-high 28 points and added 10 rebounds as the Saints' women's basketball team scored a season-high point total and handed RIT an 85-59 setback on Saturday afternoon in the Burkman Gymnasium. Rookie Caroline Dalton added a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Allison Cady chipped in a career-high nine assists.

The victory gave St. Lawrence a weekend sweep to improve to 11-6 (7-1) and remain tied atop the Liberty League standings. The Saints, who also got 14 points from Kelly Legg, shot 48% from the field (28-of-29) including 10-for-20 from behind the arc. RIT, who leads the Liberty League averaging 72.0 points per game, was held under 60 points for only the fifth time all season. The Tigers (9-8, 5-3) were led by Kayla Wheeler's 17 points, as the team shot only 30% from the field (21-of-70).

"We played at a very high pace today and played great team basketball. I thought we played unselfishly and moved the ball around well, attacking when we needed to but also being patient when necessary," said St. Lawrence head coach Dan Roiger. "It also helps to shoot it well and we certainly did that."

St. Lawrence put up the most points in a half it has all season with 46, shooting 48% from the field but a very impressive 62% from behind the arc (8-of-13). Despite a five-point RIT lead in the early going, McDuffee scored 11 straight points for the Saints before Legg and Dalton added consecutive three pointers for a 29-18 lead and forcing the Tigers to use a timeout with 8:24 left in the first half. Though the home team would stretch that advantage to 19, RIT closed with five points in the final :42 seconds to send the game to halftime trailing 46-32.

The Tigers opened the second half on a 9-2 run to pull within seven at 48-41 thanks to a three from Sydney Frank and four ponits by Wheeler. However, they would get no closer, as St. Lawrence put the pedal down on a 18-4 run to pull away up 66-45 midway through the half. McDuffee and Dalton were outstanding offensively, and St. Lawrence capitalized on nearly every scoring chance it had while owning the boards.

Up by 23 in the final 3:00 minutes, Coach Roiger emptied his bench. His team continued to play hard, holding RIT without a point in the final 2:36 of regulation en route to the impressive 85-59 win.

"I was impressed with the way we handled RIT's changing defenses," added Coach Roiger. "Every time they switched up, we recognized and quickly attacked with the right set. It demonstrated good instincts and maturity by our team."

St. Lawrence will put its three-game win streak on the line next Friday night in the Burkman Gymnasium when the Saints host Union College at 6:00pm.