The St. Lawrence University women's basketball team wrapped up its 2019-20 campaign with one of the most successful seasons in recent years, flipping the script from the year prior. The Saints posted an 18-9 record, finishing 10-3 at home in Burkman Gymnasium and 13-5 in Liberty League action, and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

"This past season was an outstanding year for Saints' basketball," said head coach Dan Roiger. "We were able to overcome a significant number of injuries early in the season and finish strong just before Christmas. After the break, we had a great run to put ourselves in not only an excellent playoff position, but also competing for the league championship, and to get a win in the playoffs and get to the semifinals in the league was a positive step for this young team."

The Saints opened the season with a bit of a rocky start, winning just two of their first six games, defeating Colby College 66-59 and Plattsburgh State 60-39. St. Lawrence began to hit its stride in early December. After falling to RPI on December 6, the Saints went on a 12-1 run, capped with a 79-77 overtime win over Vassar on February 1. The Saints swept league rivals Union, Clarkson, Bard, Skidmore, and RIT during the regular season.

The Saints excelled on the court and in the classroom as all eight eligible members earned a spot on the Liberty League All-Academic team, having earned a cumulative GPA of 3.30 or higher.

Junior forward Katie Frederick posted 13 double-doubles and led the Scarlet and Brown with 14.1 points, and topped the league with 12.1 rebounds per game. She was a three-time Liberty League Performer of the Week and earned a spot on the honor roll five times this season. She tied the program record for rebounds in a game with 23 rebounds against Elmira on January 6 and scored a career-high 32 points at RIT on February 8. Frederick earned D3hoops.com All-East Region, First-Team All-Liberty League, All-ECAC Honorable Mention, Liberty League All-Academic and CoSIDA Academic All-District honors this season.

Sophomore guard Ava McCann broke the school record for 3-pointers in a season, finishing the season with a team-high 80 shots from the arc. She ranked second on the Saints' squad with 13.3 points per game and tallied 359 points, 48 rebounds, 24 assists and nine steals. McCann recorded a career-high 31 points at home against Vassar on February 1 and earned Performer of the Week honors on February 3.

Frederick, McCann, along with first-years Olivia Middleton (8.7 PPG) and Olivia Barringer (8.3) and senior Annabella Pugliese (6.5) made up the Saints top five scorers this season.

Middleton also dished out a team-leading 91 assists, while Dylan Watkiss ranked second with 72 assists on the year and Barringer finished second on the Saints' squad with 7.0 rebounds per game.

The conclusion of the 2019-20 season brings the graduation of the Saints' two seniors Pugliese and Caroline Rodi. Pugliese finished the year with 169 points, 140 rebounds, 47 assists, 13 steals and 11 blocks, while Rodi added 60 points, 30 rebounds, 18 assists, eight steals and five blocks.

"A big part of our success was the leadership of our two seniors," Roiger added. "In addition, the team's ability to concentrate and execute a game plan was significant in being one of the better defending teams in the league. We got some excellent play from individuals, including scoring and rebounding from Katie Frederick, perimeter shooting from Ava McCann, and good point guard play from Dylan Watkiss and Olivia Middleton. Olivia Barringer was also one of the top freshman in the league and gave us an inside presence besides Katie."

Roiger and his assistants Chelsea Welch and Marlee Gunn '21 were named Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year, after leading the Saints through a successful turnaround season. The Saints more than doubled their win total in 2019-20 from a year ago (8) and they returned to the conference postseason for the third time in five years, topping RIT 83-56 in a first-round game. On top of finishing the season first in scoring defense, holding their opponents to just 55.3 points per game, the Saints were also tops in field goal percentage defense (.328) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.231) as well as 3-point field goal percentage at .365. St. Lawrence also finished in rebounding offense and third in rebounding defense, while leading the league with 30.0 defensive rebounds per game.

"We have much of our team's production and minutes returning next year. We have an excellent recruiting class coming in that will provide more depth and skill. We have a lot to look forward to in the Saints basketball program and if we have success in the future, we will look back to this team as laying the foundation for that success."