Saratoga Springs, N.Y.-- The top seed Skidmore College women's basketball team used a big second half to beat Hamilton College 65-51 to earn a spot in the Liberty League championship game against Rensselaer on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Sports and Recreation Center. The third seed Engineers beat defending champion St. Lawrence 67-55 in the first semifinal.

It will be Skidmore's (21-4) first time in the championship game, while the Engineers (16-10) will be playing in their second, winning in 2001.

Skidmore 65 Hamilton 51

After spotting Skidmore a 1-0 lead, Hamilton led the entire first half, shooting 52.2 percent from the floor (4-7 from three-point range) to grab a 36-27 lead at the break.

The Thoroughbreds came out strong in the second using a smothering defense and a 16-4 run to take the lead for good 43-40 with 9:13 to play. Skidmore held the Continentals without a basket for the first 8:25 of the run. Sharlyn Harper had six of her game-high 19 points during the run with a pair of clutch threes.

Hamilton kept it close down the stretch, pulling to within three 52-49 on a Alex Sowinski three with 3:39 to play. Skidmore responded with a 13-2 run to close out the game, going 11-13 from the line.

Harper finished with a double/double with 11 rebounds to go along with her 19 points. Amber Kinsey (Troy, N.Y./Langsingburgh) added 13 points, four steals, and eight rebounds. Christine Kemp (Putnam Valley/Putnam Valley) had eight points and three assists off the bench, shooting a perfect six for six from the line during the final 1:32. Dana Leonard (Cooperstown, N.Y./Cooperstown) contributed seven points and nine rebounds.

Eliza Howe (Westport, Conn./Staples) led Hamilton with 15 points, 11 in the first half. Reisa Asimovic added 12 points and five assists.

The 21 wins are a Skidmore record. Hamilton ends its season at 15-10.

Rensselaer 67 St. Lawrence 55

The Engineers broke open a close game with an impressive 15-1 run late in the second half. Clinging to a 50-49 lead with 5:06 to play, RPI reserve forward Nicole Monroe (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee) scored seven straight points and 11 of the 15 during the run. She even hit her first three of the season, leaving the Engineers up 65-50 with less than a minute to play.

Monroe finished with 17 points and six rebounds. Liberty League Player of the Year Whitney Coleman (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) had another impressive outing for RPI with 24 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and a steal. She was a perfect 9-9 from the line.

Abby Stanton (Avon, N.Y./Avon) led the Saints with 16 points. Iris Santoni (Florence, Mass./Northampton) added 15 points, three assists, two blocks and two steals.

Rensselaer is 16-10, while the Saints end their season at 18-9.



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Newspaper Box Score
Hamilton vs Skidmore College
2/26/10 8:10 pm at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
At Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
SKIDMORE COLLEGE 65, HAMILTON 51
HAMILTON (15-10)
Eliza Howe 5-10 4-4 15; Reisa Asimovic 3-4 6-8 12; Alex Sowinski 3-12 0-0 9;
Lisa Olszewski 3-6 0-0 6; Cate Schafer 1-3 2-5 4; Blue Sanders 1-8 0-0 3;
Kim Goidell 1-3 0-1 2; Madie Harlem 0-5 0-0 0; August Keating 0-0 0-1 0.
Totals 17-51 12-19 51.
SKIDMORE COLLEGE (21-4)
Sharlyn Harper 6-14 3-5 19; Amber Kinsey 5-9 3-6 13; Christine Kemp 1-5 6-6
8; Megan Gaugler 3-9 0-1 8; Kelly Bischoff 3-4 1-2 7; Dana Leonard 2-5 3-4
7; Logan Frederick 1-3 0-0 2; Christina Gargiso 0-0 1-2 1; Antonia Williams
0-1 0-0 0; Cyrida Felton 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 21-53 17-26 65.
Hamilton...................... 36 15 - 51
Skidmore College.............. 27 38 - 65
3-point goals--Hamilton 5-20 (Alex Sowinski 3-10; Blue Sanders 1-6; Eliza
Howe 1-1; Madie Harlem 0-3), Skidmore College 6-23 (Sharlyn Harper 4-10;
Megan Gaugler 2-6; Christine Kemp 0-2; Dana Leonard 0-2; Cyrida Felton 0-1;
Amber Kinsey 0-2). Fouled out--Hamilton-Eliza Howe, Skidmore College-None.
Rebounds--Hamilton 34 (Cate Schafer 9), Skidmore College 44 (Sharlyn Harper
11). Assists--Hamilton 12 (Reisa Asimovic 5), Skidmore College 13 (Christine
Kemp 3). Total fouls--Hamilton 22, Skidmore College 16. Technical
fouls--Hamilton-None, Skidmore College-None. A-745
Liberty League semifinal. Skidmore will play RPI on Saturday at 3pm for
championship.



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Newspaper Box Score
Rensselaer vs St. Lawrence
2/26/10 6pm at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
At Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY
RENSSELAER 67, ST. LAWRENCE 55
RENSSELAER (16-10)
Whitney Coleman 7-17 9-9 24; Nicole Monroe 8-12 0-0 17; Amanda Brophy 3-7
1-3 7; Ellen High 3-4 0-0 6; Hillary McKinley 3-6 0-0 6; Allison Connor 1-4
0-0 3; Lauren Hayes 0-1 2-2 2; Kirsten Orrell 1-2 0-0 2; Jen Greenwood 0-0
0-0 0; Katie Hansan 0-0 0-0 0; Laura Easterling 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 26-59
12-14 67.
ST. LAWRENCE (18-9)
Abby Stanton 7-13 2-8 16; Iris Santoni 7-14 0-0 15; Katherine Edgerton 2-8
2-2 6; Casey Capello 2-10 2-2 6; Nyasha Miller 2-6 0-2 4; Samantha Joudoin
1-1 0-0 3; Erica Spera 1-4 1-2 3; Brittany Parham 0-1 2-4 2; Amber Rodgers
0-0 0-0 0; Elisabeth Dwyer 0-0 0-0 0; Carrie Calhoun 0-0 0-0 0; Alyssa Brown
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-57 9-20 55.
Rensselaer.................... 30 37 - 67
St. Lawrence.................. 27 28 - 55
3-point goals--Rensselaer 3-15 (Allison Connor 1-4; Nicole Monroe 1-1;
Whitney Coleman 1-5; Lauren Hayes 0-1; Laura Easterling 0-4), St. Lawrence
2-8 (Samantha Joudoin 1-1; Iris Santoni 1-4; Casey Capello 0-3). Fouled
out--Rensselaer-None, St. Lawrence-Nyasha Miller. Rebounds--Rensselaer 41
(Whitney Coleman 14), St. Lawrence 34 (Nyasha Miller 8). Assists--Rensselaer
15 (Laura Easterling 6), St. Lawrence 9 (Iris Santoni 3). Total
fouls--Rensselaer 15, St. Lawrence 15. Technical fouls--Rensselaer-None, St.
Lawrence-None. A-175
Liberty League Semifinal. RPI will play in Saturday's championship game at
3 p.m.