First-year Katie Frederick posted her seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and 16 rebounds, but a late fourth-quarter rally lifted Ithaca to a 52-42 conference win over the St. Lawrence University women's basketball team Saturday afternoon in Ithaca, New York.

Coming into today's contest, the Saints lead the league in defense, holding opponents to just 51 points per game. With the loss, the Saints fell to 15-7 on the season and 10-5 in Liberty League play, while Ithaca improved to 17-6 and 12-4.

Frederick, the only double-digit scorer for the Saints on Saturday, shot 7-for-14 from the floor and was followed by Meghan Hynes with nine points and three rebounds, while Kaelyn Kohlasch and Cara Waterson added five points each and combined for five rebounds.

Kohlasch gave the Saints an early 5-2 lead from the arc. The Bombers responded with a block from Julie Yacovoni and a 3-pointer from Allie Tunick to tie the game at five. Meghan Pickell gave the Bombers a 11-7 lead with a layup just under four minutes to play. Ithaca carried an 11-8 lead into the second frame after only one free throw from Frederick.

In the second quarter, Yacovoni gave Ithaca a four-point advantage on a jump shot with seven minutes remaining. Annabella Pugliese closed the gap to two with a jumper around the five minute mark. Cassidy O'Malley snuck the ball away from Marlee Gunn and put the ball away for a 20-14 lead. Frederick posted back-to-back layups bringing the Scarlet and Brown within two just about two minutes until the break. The Bombers tacked on four consecutive points, but fouled Kohlasch on a late 3-pointer. Ithaca managed to hold a 24-19 lead at halftime.

After the break, Frederick recorded three consecutive buckets for the Saints, narrowing the Bombers' lead to just one point. A 3-pointer from Hynes gave the Saints their first lead, since the early minutes of the game, to lead 30-28. Abbi Field answered with another three quickly regaining control for Ithaca.

A seven-point run, capped with a layup from Tunick, gave the Bombers a 38-32 lead with 1:21 to play in the third quarter. Ithaca carries a 39-33 lead into the final frame.

After a scoreless three and a half minutes, O'Malley but Ithaca back on the board shooting 2-for-2 from the line. The Bombers took their largest lead of the afternoon, pacing the Saints 45-35 with three minutes to play in regulation. Yacovoni then landed a long shot from the arc to put Ithaca up by 13. Waterson responded with her own shot from the arc bringing the Saints back within single digits to trail by eight. Ithaca sealed the win shooting 4-for-4 from the line.

"Playoff type atmosphere and intensity and great ballgame but they deserved to win," said head coach Dan Roiger. "We played outstanding defense today and did a great job on the boards. However, our unforced turnovers on offense and our poor shooting was too much to overcome. Our youthfulness displayed itself today in our mistakes, but we'll keep working and get better! We are proving to ourselves that we can go toe-to-toe with the best teams in our league while starting three freshmen."

The Saints out-rebounded the Bombers 43-33 and grabbed nine second-chance points.

The Bombers were led by O'Malley with 16 points, three rebounds and three steals. Pickell added 10 points and five rebounds, while Yacovoni tallied seven points and a team-high nine rebounds.

St. Lawrence will return to Burkman Gymnasium for a six-game stretch to close out the regular season, the Saints will host Clarkson on Tuesday, February 13th before hosting Rensselaer and Skidmore on Friday and Saturday.