ALBANY, N.Y. - The Saint Michael's College women's basketball team turned a seven-point deficit in the final minute into a one-point edge with 23 seconds left, but the College of Saint Rose netted the winning bucket with three seconds remaining for a 62-61 Northeast-10 Conference victory in Nolan Gymnasium. The Purple Knights, who lost by six points or fewer for the seventh time this season, slipped to 7-10 overall and 4-9 in the league, while the Golden Knights at 11-6 and 8-5.

In a match-up of two of the league's best four defenses, each team surpassed its opponent's defensive average. Saint Rose was second in the NE-10 by allowing 53.9 points per game, and Saint Michael's stood fourth at 55.9, having held its past eight foes to 60 points or fewer.

Sophomore Cara Deroy (Hamden, Conn./Hamden) led the Purple Knights in scoring for the second straight contest, netting 14 points to go along with three assists and three steals. Junior Nicole Adach (Schenectady, N.Y./Mohonasen) finished with 13 points and eight rebounds while converting a go-ahead three-point play with 23 seconds remaining.

Senior Coreen Hennessy (Chatham, N.H./Fryeburg Academy) and junior Megan Olsen (Glenmont, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) each added nine points, with Olsen also collecting four steals, and senior Caitlin Quinn (Oakdale, Conn./Montville) had eight points and three swipes. Senior Samantha Steinmetz (Washington, Conn./Shepaug Valley) swatted three shots.

Senior Ashley Rath (Victor, N.Y./Victor) shot 8-of-9 from three-point range for the hosts while scoring 26 points and assisting classmate Alison McGrath's (Troy, N.Y./Catholic Central) winning bucket. McGrath ended with 11 points, as she and Rath were the only Golden Knights to score in double figures.

After trailing by 10 points in the opening half, the Purple Knights rallied to tie with 12:45 remaining in regulation, the first of four ties by 8:13, when Rath's second free throw gave her team a 46-45 lead. Adach dropped in a bucket to keep Saint Michael's within two, at 51-49, but Saint Rose extended its advantage to 59-49 with 3:47 left and still led by seven with less than a minute remaining.

At 59 seconds, Adach turned in a three-point play, and a quick Golden Knight turnover and foul put Deroy at the charity stripe, where she made it 60-58 with 50 ticks left. The Purple Knights forced an offensive foul to regain possession, and Adach dropped in her second three-point play in the final minute, pushing Saint Michael's in front, 61-60, with 23 seconds left to cap an 8-0 run that took just 36 seconds to elapse. However, McGrath made her winning shot with three seconds showing on the clock, and the visitors were unable to get another shot away.

The Purple Knights fell behind by a 15-5 count by 13:20 of the opening half on McGrath's jumper before responding with 14 of the next 22 points, drawing within 23-19 on sophomore Alexa Long's (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) lay-up with 5:48 remaining. After Saint Rose pushed its lead back out to 28-19, the visitors used eight quick points to close the gap to one, as Quinn capped the run with a pair of three-pointers 31 seconds apart, making it 28-27 at 2:02. The Golden Knights held a 30-27 advantage at halftime.

Saint Michael's remains on the road on Wednesday at nationally-ranked Assumption College at 5:30 p.m. The Greyhounds are 24th in this week's USA TODAY ESPN national poll.