Women’s basketball team splits weekend UCAA series

Women’s basketball split their weekend games with a loss against the St. Lawrence Saints and a win against Clarkson’s Golden Knights.

The Red Hawks started off their weekend with a close game against St. Lawrence. The Saints opened up the scoring with a lay-up by Aliza Bogdanich. Twenty-one seconds later the Red Hawks got on the board with a free throw by Alyssa Comis.

After a missed jump shot, some back and forth action ensued for a few minutes as possession changed several times between both teams. In the end, Karen Wood added to the Red Hawks’ score with another lay-up. Wood also added a free throw shot, putting the Hawks ahead by two.

St. Lawrence’s Katie Griffith tied the score up again a few moments later, sinking a jump shot. Caitlin Vestal put the Red Hawks back in the lead with a lay-up at 15:41.

The Saints squeezed in a shot, scoring two points off a jump shot by Megan Dietrichsen. They didn’t have a real opportunity to close the 20-16 gap until after RPI’s Kaczynski sunk two free throw shots. Saint Lawrence then put up a fight, with Griffith putting in a free throw shot. After Kaczynski added another free throw to RPI’s score, the Saints’ Lauren Foran put up a lay-up for her team.

Kavzynski won a lay-up from the Saints, who shortly thereafter got a jump shot by Dietrichsen. The period was rounded out by a jump shot by the Saints’ Jessica Zuk and a lay-up by the Red Hawks’ Jacqueline Ferrari, ending the period at 27-23.

The second period’s scoring was opened up by the Saints’ Zuk, who sank a lay-up. Zuk also contributed a free throw shot to her team’s score. Meredith Pridgen then added a jump shot off of an assist by Zuk at 18:00, putting them ahead of the Red Hawks by one, 27-28.

The Red Hawks’ Wood put in a free throw shot, making them even with the Saints. The Saints got three more lay-ups, one by Griffith and two by Pridgen. Pridgen’s shots were broken up by two free throw shots by the Red Hawk’s Comis.

The game was quiet for three minutes, until Kaczynski made a jump shot for the Red Hawks. The Saints soon answered back, with Pridgen making a free throw. Zuk increased the Saints’ lead soon after with a three point shot, putting the score at 32-40.

Starting at 11:59, the Red Hawks made an attempt to close the gap, with Morin and Vestal each contributing a jump shot and a lay-up, respectively. Paige Truax soon increased the Saints’ lead, adding both a lay-up and a free throw shot to put the score at 36-43.

Much of the rest of the game was back and forth scoring, with the Red Hawks not really closing the gap very well until the end, when they scored four points in the last 1:31. It was not enough to bring them up from behind, as the game ended 58-60.

Saturday’s game against Clarkson found RPI with an 11 point lead in the end. Scoring was opened up by the Golden Knights’ Jen Martin, on an assit by Linda Bondellio. Bondellio made a three pointer one minute later, with an assist by Martin. RPI jumped on the score sheet with a lay-up by Jacqueline Ferrari.

The Red Hawks continued to follow the Golden Knights for a few minutes, not quite catching up until 14:38, when the game was tied up 9-9. The Red Hawks then pulled ahead, and were playing neck-in-neck for some time.

RPI then pulled ahead at 9:03, when Saunders made two free throws, putting the Red Hawks ahead by two. They maintained the lead for the rest of the period. Saunders contributed two lay-ups and a jumper to RPI’s commanding 10 point lead. The period closed out at 30-20.

The Golden Knights were playing a much better game in the second period. They started the scoring with two free throw shots by Bridget Sweeney. The Red Hawks’ Kaczynski soon responded with a lay-up at 19:16. Clarkson’s Linda Fernandez made a jump shot 30 seconds later. The fury of shots were rounded out by a jump shot by RPI’s Comis, and a lay-up by the Knight’s Bondellio.

Throughout the period Clarkson matched RPI’s scoring, only falling behind the Red Hawks’ scoring by one point. Kaczynski made the final free throw, ending the game at 63-52.

The Red Hawks are 11-7 overalland 5-4 in the UCAA. They will play again on Friday at Skidmore at 8 pm.