On Friday versus Skidmore, play was evenly matched right out of the gates as both teams tried to gain an advantage. Behind a 43.3 percent shooting effort from the floor in the first half, RPI built up an eight-point margin at the 11:22 mark. They went up by as much as 12 at one point, but heading into the half the Red Hawk advantage was 10, with a score of 31-21.

When the action continued after the half, Rensselaer remained on top with their strong and aggressive play, but Skidmore slowly and steadily chipped away at the lead. The Thoroughbreds tied the game up at 42 with 6:58 remaining in the game and grabbed their first lead since the opening minutes of play, going up by a single point.

The Red Hawks, however, gathered themselves and, after senior Destany Eagles drained a three-pointer to put RPI back on top, built up another lead that would carry them to the end of regulation and to victory, winning by a score of 57-50.

“It was a great win for us,” said senior Kristi Baranowski. She added, “They may not have a chance to make the playoffs themselves, but they’ve been beating teams at the top of the league lately, and we’re glad not to be one of those teams.”

Baranowski recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. Eagles finished the game with 11 points and five rebounds. Sophomores Whitney Coleman and Elizabeth Barker added nine and six points, respectively. Senior Krystal Coke led the way for Skidmore with 14 points in addition to eight rebounds.

One day later, there were a couple of main factors that contributed to the Red Hawks’ 67-58 loss to the Union Dutchwomen. The bench, usually a major advantage for RPI, was outscored by their counterpart 30-14. In addition Rensselaer was out-rebounded 51-36, and while they only turned the ball over nine times, they shot a slightly less than par 34 percent from the floor.

In the first half, Union was in complete control. An initial seven-point lead was slowly built upon and would grow to 15 points, but headed into the break RPI trailed by 11, 34-23. “Within the first few minutes of the game both teams got good shots, but they were able to finish theirs while we were not,” said Baranowski.

The second half was roughly the same as the first as Union continued to have their hands clasped around the necks of the Red Hawks, leading by double digits for the majority of play. “The game was filled with runs by each team. We would have a great run at Union only to be followed by a run back at us in return,” Baranowski said.

RPI trailed by 18 at one point, and while they were able to fight back to some extent cutting the deficit to nine, the loss was inevitable as RPI fell by a final score of 67-58. Coleman scored a game-high of 26 points while Baranowski added 10 points and nine boards. The Union attack was fueled by sophomore Maria Tobin who scored 17 points.

The Red Hawks were not happy with the loss as it was the first game since Liberty League play opened that the women played from behind for an entire game. RPI was, however, able to take some positives out of the contest. “We look at the loss as one last eye opener before the season ends. We’ve got to get down to business this week so we can finish strong,” commented Baranowski.

With their record now standing at 14-8, the Red Hawks will close out their season this Friday and Saturday on the road with games against William Smith and Hamilton College.