The Rensselaer women’s basketball team went 2-0 in their first weekend in UCAA play as they eased by Hamilton 81-67 on Friday and snuck out a win over William Smith 55-52 on Saturday.
After struggling in the first half, the Red Hawks entered the second half trailing 32-31 and were looking for a way to get back on track.
Head Coach John Greene wanted to get Rensselaer back to their bread and butter, the running game, so the Red Hawks surprised Hamilton with some full court pressure.
“We tried to be more aggressive in the second half, and we got some turnovers,” Greene said. “That gave them a different look and forced them to make the correct adjustments.”
The 2-2-1 press had its desired affect as the pace of the game increased, causing Hamilton turnovers, and creating a number of fast break chances for RPI.
“That’s part of our game,” Greene said. “We look to run off of any made or missed basket and of course after any turnover we are looking to go.”
Rensselaer also made intelligent decisions on the break, deciding when to force the issue and when to slow the game down.
“We were more in sync in the second half,” Greene said. “The girls were more relaxed.”
In their half court sets Rensselaer fed the ball down low, isolating a smaller and slower Hamilton defender on either senior captain Kristin Kaczynski or junior forward Kaitlyn Saunders.
With the Rensselaer offense finally clicking on all cylinders, the Red Hawks ran away from Hamilton down the stretch.
Kaczynski, who scored six points to open the second half, took control of the game for RPI, and delivered a double-double adding 10 rebounds to her 15 points.
“She came out and played a game that is more typical of her normal game, which is more inside-outside,” Greene said. “She is a strong, bigger guard and that makes her difficult to cover close to the basket.”
Saunders, who has already been named UCAA Forward of the Week twice and recieved the honor again this week, also had another great performance with 29 points, seven rebounds, and five steals against the Continentals.
“Kaitlyn brings a tremendous amount of athleticism and intensity to the game,” Greene said. “She is great at anticipating on the defensive end of the floor, and then has the quickness and speed to then get up the floor and lead the break.”
The weekend’s second contest proved to be a much tougher contest against a very balanced William Smith squad.
The Red Hawks appeared a little fatigued and looked shaky from time to time on both sides of the floor.
“With the way the conference [schedule] is fatigue is always a factor,” Greene said. “They had an easy game the other night against Vassar and we had a tougher game here against Hamilton.
Rensselaer looked to be in trouble as William Smith took their first ever lead of the game, 44-42, and the momentum as Seraphine Hamilton hit a running lay-up with just seven minutes left in the game.The lead would change five times over the next six minutes as both teams desperately tried to put together a late run.
The Red Hawks finally grabbed the lead for good with 40 seconds left after Saunders’ field goal made the score 53-52 RPI.
On the ensuing William Smith possession Rensselaer stepped up its defensive effort, not allowing William Smith to even get a shot off, forcing the 30-second shot clock violation. Kaczynski, who had a game high 19 points and nine rebounds, then hit two clutch free-throws, securing the win for the Red Hawks.
Saunders had another solid performance with 15 points and seven steals, while senior Caitlyn Vestal also added 10 points and nine rebounds.
Despite the win, Greene noticed several issues that the team must address if they wish to survive in the always difficult UCAA.
“We just were not in sync offensively tonight as a group.” Greene said. “We did not get to the foul line that much and you have give a lot of credit to them, they did not let us have the looks we are accustomed to. Defensively, we did not play well from start to finish, we were not as vocal as we normally are, and we are slow on our rotations and traps and getting out on the three point shooters.”
However, Greene was extremely pleased with his team’s defensive stance at the end of the game, forcing William Smith into a shot clock violation and the girls’ composure in such a close game.
“A big positive is coming into the tight game and pulling it out in the end,” Greene said. “We had to do it without getting to the free-throw line, and we had to do it by making clutch shots and good defensive stances. I think this will really help build our confidence in the close games.”
Rensselaer routed Vassar 71-43 on Tuesday night as the Red Hawks continued to plow their way through thier UCAA schedule. Saunders was Rensselaer’s leading scorer with 15 points.
Rensselaer now improves to 10-2 on the season and 3-0 in the UCAA. The Red Hawks will now travel to Clarkson on Friday and St. Lawrence on Saturday where they will look to stay undefeated in conference play.
