Canton, NY – Junior Lauren Pluchino (Liverpool, NY) scored a game-high 20 points, shooting a flawless 4-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc, but her effort wasn’t enough for the Clarkson University Women’s Basketball team as the Golden Knights fell 72-60 to St. Lawrence Tuesday evening at Burkman Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights fell to 4-14 overall and 1-7 in the Liberty League, while St. Lawrence evened its conference record at 4-4 and moved to 12-6 overall. Clarkson continues on its five-game road trip this weekend when it visits Rensselaer and Vassar.
The Knights found themselves trailing early as St. Lawrence shot from a high percentage in the paint in the opening minutes, making four lay ups before Clarkson finally got on the scoreboard at 16:29 following a Carey Turner (Clifton Park, NY) lay up. St. Lawrence then went to the perimeter to extend its modest advantage to a controlling one, going on a 21-2 run over seven minutes before a lay up from Lauren Pluchino finally halted the streak. The Saints were active in denying the ball on the perimeter and the interior, trying to keep Michelle Reddinger (Baldwinsville, NY) from repeating her record-setting 39-point performance from two weeks earlier. The strategy worked as the Knights were forced into 18 turnovers in the first half and Reddinger was held to just a single point on a free throw.
Pluchino scored 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, to lead Clarkson in the opening half. Casey Capello and Iris Santoni each tallied 11 first-half points to lead St. Lawrence.
In the second half, Clarkson took better care of the ball and was able to make a few runs to get back into the contest, but every time the Knights appeared ready to cut the lead to single digits, St. Lawrence responded with a 3-pointer to push its lead back to the mid-teens.
Pluchino finished with 20 points, shooting 6-for-8 from the floor and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Sophomore Morgan Carella (Roslyn Heights, NY) contributed 9 points in 23 minutes off the bench, while Turner tossed in 8 points. Junior Sierra Noles (Averill Park, NY) had 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.
For St. Lawrence, Santoni finished with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting and she also added 4 assists. Capello added 13 points and 6 rebounds, while Abby Stanton came within a rebound of a double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds.