Box Score CANTON, N.Y.—The St. Lawrence University basketball team held off William Smith College, 51-48, in a back-and-forth battle for the Liberty League Championship.
 
Saints' junior Kelly Legg, who had a team-high 18 points, was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player, while sophomore Allison Cady earned All-Tournament Team honors after a 14-point effort.
 
The Herons (17-10) were led by senior guard Sydni Salvatore, who put her team's offense on her back at times, en route to a career-high 26 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Junior guard Sasha Borenstein added 10 points for William Smith, while junior guard Jacqueline Murphy grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
 
In a game that featured 12 lead changes and eight ties, neither St. Lawrence nor William Smith led by more than four points the entire contest. Neither team was able to get much going in the first half, but both teams came out looking to earn the conference title in the second half.
 
The two teams exchanged baskets throughout the second period, and a jumper by junior Cassie St. Hilaire with 11:52 remaining gave St. Lawrence the lead, 33-32. Though William Smith kept within striking distance for the remainder of the game, and had several possessions with a chance to take the lead, the visitors couldn't convert when they needed the bucket.
 
Trailing 45-44 with under two minutes to play, William Smith opted to start fouling and sent Amanda Roberts to the free throw line for a 1-and-1. The rookie point guard knocked down both tries to extend the lead to three, but Salvatore answered with two points of her own. Kara McDuffee, who finished with six points, eight rebounds, six assists and six steals for St. Lawrence, would deliver four clutch free throws in the final seconds, keeping the Saints' three-point lead intact at 51-48 with :10 seconds left.
 
Though William Smith would get the ball to half court and set up an offensive play, senior Jaimie Rubin's 3-point try from well-outside the arc came up short and bounced out of bounds with 1.2 seconds remaining. The Saints inbounded the ball and the clock ran out.
 
The Herons owned a 43-34 advantage in rebounds and were solid defensively, but struggled on the offensive end, shooting 31 percent (18-for-58) with 19 turnovers. The Saints (19-8) shot only marginally better, 36.4 percent (20-55) and committed five fewer turnovers.
 
Following the game, the All-Tournament Team was recognized, including Legg, Cady, Salvatore, Vassar's Colleen O'Connell and Dani DeGregory of Skidmore.