Last Saturday the St. Lawrence Saints arrived at the Armory having lost to Vassar the previous evening still lacking the services of point guard and leading scorer Meredith Eisenhunt. The Red Hawks checked in, smelled blood, and then turned up their stifling defense for a 57-48 victory.
The game opened with both teams trading baskets, but the Red Hawks immediately jumped into their full-court attack, putting pressure on the Saints. The Red Hawks defense is always tough to break, and without their starting point guard the Saints had even more challenges.
The Red Hawks’ defense held the Saints to merely 29 percent shooting in the first half. This led to a 6 point Rensselaer advantage at the half, 24-18.
The second half had several tough moments, as the Saints rallied several times and cut the lead. But the Red Hawks showed their confidence and stayed focused. Rensselaer also controlled the boards, finishing with a 41-23 advantage in rebounds.
In the end, despite shooting only 52 percent from the free throw line, the Red Hawks emerged with the win, completing the weekend sweep.
Co-Captain Melissa Coppola connected on seven of nine shots to finish with 20 points. She also added 11 boards. Guard Kristin Kaczynski finished with 11, while guard Holly Neiweem added 9. Co-Captain Kate Shulten pulled down 11 rebounds.
In Friday’s game against Clarkson, the Red Hawks came out strong, built a 14-point halftime lead and never looked back.
The Red Hawks shot over 44 percent from the floor and seemed to shake off their previous weekend of shooting woes, in which they managed only 15 percent shooting.
Neiweem totaled 19 points and four assists, while connecting on four of seven from 3-point range. Forward Kristen Campbell shot seven of 10 from the floor to finish with 14 points. Kaczynski once again finished in double digits with 13, while Forward Shannon Pratt hit for 8.
With the two wins, the Red Hawks upped their record to 14-4 including a 7-2 mark in UCAA play. Rensselaer then turned their attention to a non-conference game with Cazenovia.
This was not much of a game as the Red Hawks simply had too much for the Wildcats and blew them out of the Armory by a score of 90-69.
Kaczynski continued her strong play with 18 points, while Coppola added 12 points and 13 rebounds. Pratt scored 12, Campbell and Neiweem each had 9, and Shulten hit for 7.
The Red Hawks are heading on the road this weekend for another showdown with the Herons of William Smith. If Rensselaer can walk away with two more wins this weekend, they will have the inside track to home-court advantage throughout the UCAA playoffs.
