The Rensselaer women’s basketball team ended their 2004 season in nearly the exact same way as the 2003 campaign, with a loss to the top seed in the ECAC championship game.
Last year it was SUNY Geneseo, and this year it was an 80-68 defeat at the hands of host St. John Fisher that ended the Red Hawks’ quest for the ECAC crown.
Rensselaer came out strong in the opening minutes taking the ball to the basket and getting themselves to the free throw line. The Red Hawks scored half of their first 14 points from the charity stripe.
However, the team’s euphoria soon faded as St. John Fisher exploded on an 18-2 run over the next ten minutes, which put serious space between the two teams.
The Cardinals capitalized on RPI turnovers the entire first half and pushed the ball right back at the reeling Red Hawks. Rensselaer got a taste of their own medicine as the Cardinals really got out in transition and expanded their lead to 14 by halftime.
After the break, RPI appeared to be a different team—they were calm, composed, and executing the game plan. The Red Hawks went on a 14-2 run and quickly trimmed the Cardinal lead to just five points less than five minutes into the second half.
The game would remain close down the stretch as Rensselaer kept the deficit to single digits until the bitter end. However, the talented Cardinals held off the pesky and relentless Red Hawks with clutch shooting from the field and the free throw line.
Both teams had an impressive five players in double digits while the Cardinals’ Melissa Hartman poured in a game high 17 points for the victors.
Junior Kaitlyn Saunders and senior Caitlin Vestal each led RPI with 15 points while senior Alyssa Comis added 11 and seniors Kristen Kaczynski and Jacqueline Ferrari tallied 10 apiece.
The ECAC Championship marked the end of six very successful basketball careers at Rensselaer for seniors Vestal, Comis, Kaczynski, Ferrari, Kelly Choppy, and Moira Sherry, who will all graduate in May.
Kaczynski became the all-time leading scorer in Rensselaer women’s basketball history in the team’s semi-final blowout win over Oneonta State. She finished her career with 1432 total points.
Saunders also reached a career milestone in the Red Hawks dismantling of William Smith in the ECAC first round match up. Saunders scored her 1000th career point and is eyeing Kaczynski’s mark entering her senior season.
Saunders has been able to compliment her quickness and athleticism around the basket with a solid mid-range and three point jump shot that has made her very difficult for most teams to defend.
However, the road is most certainly a bumpy one for the Red Hawks and Head Coach John Greene as they will have to replace four starters, four of the team’s top five scorers, his leading rebounder, and his leader in assists in just one off season.
A tough task no doubt, but one that must be accomplished if Rensselaer wishes to get back to the ECAC championship game or better yet go dancing in the NCAA tournament next March.
