The St. Lawrence University women's basketball team opened its 2014 Liberty League schedule with a victory on Friday night against Union College in Schenectady, NY by the score of 55-50. Senior Kelly Legg recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, as the Scarlet and Brown used a 46-33 edge in rebounding to knock off Kate Thompson and the Dutchwomen on their home floor.

Kara McDuffee led St. Lawrence (4-5, 1-0) with a team-high 13 points thanks to an 8-for-10 mark from the free throw line, while rookie Caroline Dalton added 10 points. Legg nearly had a triple-double with seven blocks for the Saints, who used a 6-for-13 (46%) mark from behind the arc to help overcome 25 turnovers. Union (7-3, 0-2) was 3-for-9 from three point range and shot only 30% from the field. Thompson led the home team with a game-high 18 points and seven boards.

"That was a real gutsy win tonight," said St. Lawrence head coach Dan Roiger. "With a shortened roster and battling foul trouble, we hung in and made some big plays through the game."

Union held narrow leads throughout the opening portion of the first half, including a 16-14 edge after a three pointer by Kelsey McDonald with 9:33 to play. Dalton would bury a three of her own and put St. Lawrence on top as the teams exchanged leads into the final minutes of the period. Trailing by four with 4:21 to go, St. Lawrence closed the half on a 12-2 run to take a 31-25 lead into intermission. Legg, McDuffee, Dalton and Allison Cady all added baskets in the run that gave the visitors their largest lead.

The Saints would hold a lead throughout much of the second half, and matched the six-point cushion they had at half time with 4:25 remaining off a free throw from McDuffee to make it a 48-42 game. Union would answer with Amy Loya chipping in four points and a jumper by McDonald to tie the game at 48-48 with 2:40 remaining, and Thompson's free throws with 1:55 to go gave the Dutchwomen their first lead of the second half at 50-48.

Legg would answer with arguably the biggest bucket of the night as she knocked down a three to give St. Lawrence the lead at 51-50 with 1:36 left, and after a missed three by McDonald, Dalton hit a jumper for a 53-50 cushion with :33 seconds left. Union would have numerous chances to draw closer including two missed lay-ups from Brittney Kenney and a missed three by Cailin Schmeer that would've tied it with :03 seconds left. However, McDuffee grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and added both free throws to solidify the 55-50 conference win.

"It is a great win on the road for us and we needed every contribution, top to bottom, on our roster," added Coach Roiger.

The victory helped St. Lawrence avenge a tough 66-65 overtime loss in Schenectady last season. The Olivia Mathieu contributed key minutes off the bench with four points, three rebounds and a team-high three assists.

The Saints, who have won three of their last four, will look to earn a weekend sweep tomorrow when they head to Troy, NY to face the Rensselaer Engineers at 2:00pm.