Last weekend, the Red Hawks took on Liberty League foes St. Lawrence and Clarkson to round out their four-game road trip, and for the second straight week, the women split the series, going one and one for the week.
Friday night, Rensselaer took on the Saints of St. Lawrence, and from the start, it had all the makings of a great battle. RPI fell behind in the early minutes but clawed back to take a slight lead in the very evenly matched period. The women carried a six-point lead into the half, with the score 38-32.
When play resumed, it seemed as if the second half would compare favorably to the first. St. Lawrence, however, caught the Red Hawks, took the lead, widened the gap, and never looked back.
The Saints outscored RPI by 18 points in the second half despite shooting 39.3 percent from the floor, compared to Rensselaer’s 54.9 percent. St. Lawrence was led by sophomore Jaime Wolff who scored 19 points, grabbed six boards, and dished out three assists.
Rensselaer was paced by junior Kristi Baranowski, whose game high of 21 points in conjunction with eight rebounds was not enough. Freshman Whitney Coleman and junior Destany Eagles chipped in with 15 and 16 points, respectively. St. Lawrence improved to 13-6 overall and an impressive 7-1 in Liberty League play with the win.
The next day, RPI squared off with Clarkson for another intense battle. Once again, the women fell behind early but were able to snatch back the lead with an important 10-0 run. The Golden Knights, however, were able to close the gap with impressive play in the closing minutes of the half, and cut the lead to four, as the score heading into intermission was 28-24.
The Red Hawks’ strong play in the second half was ultimately what gave them the victory. The final score was 59-49, but the 10-point advantage was slightly misleading as RPI led by double digits for much of the game, and by as many as 14.
Clarkson was able to fight back and make it a closer contest in the final minutes with a barrage of late three-pointers and free throws. Rensselaer held tough and was able to successfully close out the game and put the nails in the coffin as they knocked down all of their free throws in the final minute.
Clarkson guards Vanessa Westcott and Erika Fritjofson led the Golden Knights’ attack with 13 and 11 points, but their efforts were not enough.
The Red Hawks were led by junior forward Tory Lyons who scored 17 points and grabbed seven boards. Baranowski was solid with 10 and nine, while freshman guard Caitlyn Charest added nine points.
An additional treat for the women’s basketball team this week was the naming of freshman Whitney Coleman as the Liberty League Rookie of the Week. She averaged 11.5 points, five rebounds, 3.5 assists, and one steal in the two games this week. This is the third time she has received this honor.
The difference between the good teams and the great teams is the ability to perform and succeed when everything is on the line, when you are in those pressure situations. What it comes down to is the team’s ability to close out a game; however, in this case, we are talking about the ability to close out a season.
With five games remaining on their schedule, the RPI women’s basketball team’s character will be put to the test as they look to compete and rank high among the Liberty League’s best. Their record currently stands at 11-7, and 5-4 in Liberty League play. That is good enough for fourth place, but the team has an important stretch coming up and can do some damage. They will take on first place William Smith on Friday for a 6 pm marquee match-up, and then take on Hamilton Saturday for an afternoon game at 4 pm. Both contest are home games in Robison Gym.
