ALBANY – The College of Saint Rose women's basketball team held visiting Saint Michael's College to just three second half field goals to earn the program's 600th win via a 57-41 Northeast-10 Conference victory over the Purple Knights at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium tonight. The Golden Knights (5-8/4-4 NE-10) furthermore outscored Saint Michael's (3-8/1-7 NE-10) 30-8 in the paint, generated 16 points off 21 miscues and put together a 15-2 margin in second chance points.

The Purple Knights jumped out to a 9-4 lead 4:55 into the contest after senior guard Alexis Keller buried three straight trifectas. Saint Rose countered by outscoring Saint Michael's 20-3 over the next 10:45 that transformed a five point deficit into a 12 point, 24-12, lead. Sophomore forward Ali Johnson keyed the spurt with a turnaround in the paint and sophomore guard Ashley Rath capped things off with a jumper.

What was a comfortable margin dwindled to just two, 28-26, at the break as the Purple Knights embarked on a 14-6 run of their own. Keller scored five more points during the spurt and senior guard Meg O'Shea finished things off with a 3-pointer.

It was at that point the Golden Knights secured things on the defensive end. Saint Michael's went just 3-for-22 from the floor throughout the final 20 minutes, including an 0-for-8 effort from the arc, and Saint Rose did not allow a field goal over the final 10:32.

Despite a poor second half shooting performance, the Purple Knights trailed by just five, 44-39, after a pair of free throws by junior guard Mandy Scott with 7:03 to play. The Golden Knights then went on a 10-0 jaunt and closed things out by knocking down 7-of-8 attempts from the charity stripe over the final two minutes to snap a four-game skid.

Johnson and junior forward Amy Voelkel each registered “double-doubles” to lead Saint Rose. Johnson finished with career-highs of 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Voelkel added 11 points and a career-best 15 boards. Rath also found twin-figures for the fifth time in six outings with 11 points.

Keller led all scorers with 21 points, including 16 in the first half, for Saint Michael's.

The Golden Knights return to league action this Saturday when they head to Rindge, NH to take on Franklin Pierce University, which comes into the game as the top-ranked team in the country (Division II). Tip-off is set for 1:30 pm. The Purple Knights return home Saturday for an NE-10 date versus Le Moyne College at 1:30 pm in Colchester, VT. 

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