The women’s basketball team obliterated Southern Vermont in its first home game of the season, defeating the Lady Mountaineers 67-11 on November 20.
On offense, the Red Hawks played well but not spectacularly, shooting 41.3 percent from the field. Sophomore Forward Kelly Choppy led a balanced Rensselaer attack with 14 points.
The RPI defense was much more impressive—they held the Mountaineers to 37 shots, only five of which went in. Southern Vermont also committed 22 turnovers, to RPI’s 10.
Rensselaer was also very strong on the boards, outrebounding the visitors at both ends of the court. The Red Hawks had 54 rebounds, including 26 on the offensive glass, compared to Southern Vermont’s total of 20. Forward Caitlin Vestal picked up 10 boards to lead RPI in that category.
Both teams were down players for the game. Co-Captain Melissa Coppola was unavailable for the Red Hawks, but Southern Vermont was much worse off, with two players of their eight-person squad on the bench for the game—fatigue certainly became a factor by the end of the game, as three of the visitors’ starters played the entire contest.
Head Coach John Greene took advantage of the big lead to spread some playing time around. Choppy led all Rensselaer players with 26 minutes, and the only players who did not get 10 minutes in the game were Kristin Kaczynski, Karen Wood, Holly Neiweem, and Coppola—all regular starters for the Red Hawks.
The win advances RPI’s record to 2-1; they split a pair of games at the Williams College Invitational on November 16-17 to start the season. The Red Hawks travel to Cambridge, Mass., on Friday for a match against MIT.
