The Red Hawks had a tough, emotional game on November 27, facing down Mt. Saint Mary in a replay of last year’s first-round NCAA game. The Blue Knights won that game, 66-54, and picked up a 68-61 overtime victory in the rematch. RPI recovered from the loss quickly though, taking down MIT in Cambridge on Friday.
RPI started out slow on offense against Mt. Saint Mary, as the home team developed a sizable lead. A run by Rensselaer just before halftime closed the gap to five, and the Red Hawks carried that momentum into the second half. Junior Kristin Kaczynski was especially potent, picking up 28 points and five rebounds.
Rensselaer eventually took the lead, but couldn’t hold on. According to Head Coach John Greene, offensive mistakes down the stretch, as well as a couple of questionable foul calls, allowed the Blue Knights to send the game into overtime.
Free throw shooting was key in the extra period, and the Red Hawks did not hit them often enough. The Blue Knights hit most of their foul shots in overtime, putting the game out of reach.
The Red Hawks played much better in the MIT game; Greene said that “it was probably, to date, our best team effort.”
RPI put together an excellent team defense that allowed MIT to make only 10 of 59 shots from the field. After Kaczynski and Karen Wood, two of the team’s top players, got into early foul trouble, the RPI bench came to life, setting a consistent scoring pace, picking up 26 points in the first half and 30 in the second to lead the Red Hawks to a 56-31 win.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Saunders led all scorers with 11 points, and post players Melissa Coppola and Jo Alexander were strong on both the offensive and defensive boards, with Coppola gathering in eight rebounds and Alexander pulling down six.
The only weak spot in the Red Hawks’ game was their foul-shooting: RPI was only 50 percent from the line, which Greene said was not nearly good enough.
The Red Hawks’ last game before break is at home versus Hartwick on Thursday. The team will play at a tournament in Worcester, Mass., on January 4-5 before beginning their conference season at Hamilton and William Smith on January 11-12. Their first home game after the holidays will be on January 15 against Vassar at 6 pm.
