A combined offensive effort from Katie Frederick, Kaelyn Kohlasch and Meghan Hynes helped lead the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team to a 61-48 win over William Smith in Liberty League play Friday evening in Geneva, New York.

With the win, the Saints split the season series with William Smith and improved to 14-5 overall and 9-3 in conference play, while the Herons fell to 11-9 and 5-8.

Kohlasch led the Saints with 11 points, shooting 5-for-9 from the field, while Frederick posted her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Hynes also added 10 points, shooting 4-for-7 from the floor and 2-for-3 from the arc and three rebounds for the Saints.

St. Lawrence took a quick lead over William Smith, leading the Herons 22-7 at the end of the first quarter. Along with taking a 15-point lead, the Saints also out rebounded the Herons 15-7 in the first ten minutes of play.

The Herons made quick work of playing catchup in the second quarter, but only managed 13 points to the Saints' 12, St. Lawrence shot 44 percent from the field to William Smith's 24 percent in the first half, building a 34-20 lead heading into the locker room. Stavriana Dimitrakopoulou landed the Herons only 3-pointer of the first half.

Kohlasch kicked off the third frame with a jump shot putting the Saints up by 16 at the 9:44 mark. However, the Herons rallied cutting St. Lawrence's lead to only nine points on a layup from Juliana Gamboa with 2:03 remaining in the third. Frederick gave the Saints back their double-digit lead just over a minute later.

Heading into the final frame, the Scarlet and Brown continued to build their lead over William Smith. The Saints maintained at least a 12-point advantage over the Herons for the final ten minutes of play.

The Herons edged the Saints in second-chance points, 12-10, and outscored them in the second and third quarters, but was unable to erase the first-quarter deficit for a comeback.

"We played great defense tonight," said head coach Dan Roiger. "I'm really proud of the effort adn mental focus the team exhibited tonight. To hold William Smith on the road to only 48 points was an excellent job well done. We had a great start and then continued to make it difficult for them to get a run. Every time we needed to we were able to score and stop their momentum. Great game management tonight by Cara and Marlee."

William Smith was led by Mia Morrison with 20 points and nine rebounds, while Emma Gallagher added 12 points and three assists. Kendra Quinn-Moultrie grabbed a team-high four steals, while Adrianne Torea added two blocks for the Herons.

St. Lawrence currently sits second in the Liberty League standings and leads the conference in scoring defense only allowing 51.2 points per game, as well as leading in rebounding offense and defense.

The Saints will travel to RIT for their second conference game of the weekend tomorrow, February 3rd. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.