The St. Lawrence University women's basketball team fought back from a 21 point deficit to come to within three points with 11:20 remaining in regulation, but SUNY Cortland made big shots when it needed to, holding off the Saints, 74-62, in a non-conference game in the Burkman Gymnasium on Saturday.

The Red Dragons, now 4-1, were led by Grace Williamson's 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Phoebe Byrnes and Caysea Cohen recorded 17 and 14 points, respectively. St. Lawrence's Kelly Legg had a game-high 21 points, while Caroline Dalton recorded 10 points. Kara McDuffee had a game-high 15 rebounds for the Saints, who fall to 1-3 on the season.

"I was really proud of what we did out on the court today," said St. Lawrence head coach Dan Roiger. "Despite being shorthanded we battled hard all game long. We found a way to dig in and somehow get back in the game after nothing was going right in the first half. I'm really proud of the team and believe that this adversity can make us stronger once everyone is healthy. A lot happened today that we can build upon for the future."

Cortland jumped out to a 20-8 lead after the first ten minutes behind 50.0 percent shooting from the floor and two 3-pointers from Phoebe Byrnes. The Red Dragons then cruised to a 38-22 halftime lead, with Grace Williamson dominating in the post, scoring 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting and grabbing eight rebounds in the first half. St. Lawrence struggled from the floor in the first half, making only nine of its 33 shot attempts. Kelly Legg had eight first-half points for the Saints, while Kara McDuffee recorded 10 rebounds.

Cortland stretched its lead to 16 points (43-26) four minutes into the second half on a 3-pointer from Cohen. St. Lawrence, however, put together a 17-5 run over the next three minutes, making six of their next seven attempts from the field, coming to within three points with 13:03 left. Lauren Quattrocchi started things off for the Saints with a three-pointer at the 17:02 mark, while Gabi Hahn made a lay-up at 13:13 to bring the score to 48-43. A pair of free throws from Legg brought the Saints to within three points, 48-45, but that was the closest that they would come.

Cortland hit four big 3-pointers in the next several minutes, pushing the Red Dragons' advantage back into double figures, where it would remain the rest of the game.

The Red Dragons shot 45.5 percent from long range, making 10 of 22, and were 25-60 from the field for 41.7 percent shooting. Meanwhile, St. Lawrence outscored Cortland 40-36 in the second half, but was done in by its struggles offensively in the opening stanza.