The Red Hawks dropped their last two Liberty League games this weekend losing Friday night 57-40 to William Smith in Geneva, N.Y., and falling 74-66 to Hamilton on Saturday afternoon; officially eliminating the RPI from the conference playoffs.

Rensselaer opened up the game on a 16-4 run and looked to have the home team back on their heals. However, the Herons scored 14 unanswered points to take the lead back from the Red Hawks 17-16 just over three minutes later. RPI snatched back the lead on the next possession on a basket from Kristi Baranowski, and eventually extended the lead 22-19 at the end of the first half.

In the second half, both teams battled for control of the lead and the game. The lead changed hands three times and the ball game was tied two other times all within the half’s first 10 minutes, but at the 9:39 mark William Smith took the lead for good.

Over the next 7:32, the Herons would go on a 16-0 run, leaving the Red Hawks in their dust and forcing Rensselaer into a must-win situation Saturday with Hamilton. The Herons’ freshman guard Marisa Vespa was extremely impressive in the win, producing a line of 15 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and three steals.

Baranowski led the Red Hawks with 16 points and six rebounds in the loss. William Smith was impressive in holding Kaitlyn Saunders to a mere 13 points, well below her 19.4 average.

Saunders picked up her performance in Saturday’s do-or-die match up with Hamilton. The winner of this game would be finished while the winner would advance into the post season. However, even Saunders’ gritty 30-point performance was not enough for Rensselaer.

Despite holding the lead for the first 15:00 of the first half, the Red Hawks actually went to the locker room trailing the Continentals 30-25. RPI held a five-point lead with just 6:12 remaining in the half, but some excellent shooting from Hamilton created the five-point swing.

This opening five minutes of the first half were brutal, as RPI and Hamilton struggled for the lead. Rensselaer eventually took back the lead 33-32, but that was the last time the Red Hawks led in the contest.

Hamilton went on a 22-7 run, pushing the margin to 14 points at the 7:32 mark. Rensselaer, behind the motivated play of Saunders and Missy Jackman, and the realization this could end their season, clawed back into the contest. The Red Hawks reduced Hamilton’s lead to just four points twice with less than three minutes to play.

However, fatigue and the immense deficit proved to be too much for a Red Hawks team that had struggled through the preseason before finally finding themselves during Liberty League. The loss capped the end to a frustrating season and weekend for the Red Hawks, who will be losing two crucial components in Saunders and point guard Amy Morin.

Saunders also had nine rebounds and four steals in addition to her 30 points, and was fittingly named Liberty League Forward of the Week again. Jackman, a freshman also contributed 18 points going 5-9 from beyond the three-point line. Jackman was a late bloomer for Rensselaer and made several clutch shots for the Red Hawks throughout the season.

Hamilton’s lone senior, Tricia Czeski, led the way for its young squad, scoring 27 points on 10-13 shooting. Czeski was named Co-Guard of the Week by the Liberty League. Allie Massaro added 17 point and grabbed seven rebounds for the winners.

Shooting percentage and turnovers were the keys to Hamilton’s victory. The Continentals shot over 45 percent compared to the Red Hawks’ dismal 29 percent display. RPI also committed a horrendous 35 turnovers while Hamilton fared little better committing 31 of their own.

The Liberty League Conference Tournament will be held this weekend in Geneva, N.Y., at the home court of regular season champion William Smith.