NEWBURGH, NY—The Alfred University Saxons topped the Mount St. Mary Knights, 64-51, to split their early December road trip this weekend.
Harley Cleary (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) led the Saxons to the victory Saturday afternoon, pouring 20 points into the net while seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Sophomore Amanda Off (New Berlin, NY/Unadilla Valley) was dominant in the paint notching a double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
The Saxons gained a large lead midway through the first half, taking advantage of a 14-0 run over five minutes. A group of Saxons were on the offensive, with Hailey Sick (Dansville, NY/Dansville) putting up four points in traffic. With :30 seconds to go in the half the Knights fought back within two points, but Cleary drained a three-pointer just seconds before the buzzer to give the Saxons a 34-29 advantage at the intermission.
The Saxons came out of the locker room ready to play and put the Knights away early. Within one minute Cleary hit two long range shots to put the Saxons up by nine and AU never looked back. The Saxons saw their largest lead with 9:53 to go in the game when they assumed a 14-point lead. Mount St. Mary would get back within five points, but as if on cue, the Saxons started to drop shots left and right. By the end of the game AU was leading by 13 with :22 seconds to go and carried that lead to the final, 64-51.
Freshman McKaylee Croll (Perry, NY/Perry) distributed the ball all over the court notching 7 assists. Along with helping the Saxons on their 14-0 run in the first half, Sick grabbed 13 rebounds on her way to nine points. Emilea Harrison (Conesus, NY/Dansville) had three steals and nine points.
AU (3-5, E8 0-0) will sit on their win until January 2nd when they open up Empire 8 play against Stevens Tech.