Four seconds was all that stood between the Rensselaer women’s basketball team and their fourth straight win; four seconds and St. Lawrence’s Jamie Wolff.
After trailing the entire game, Wolff scored two of her game-high 22 points in the waning seconds on a jumper in Saturday afternoon’s contest, knotting the score at 58 and eventually propelling the Saints to a 69-62 overtime victory over the host Red Hawks, successfully ending RPI’s three-game winning streak.
However, Wolff’s game-tying shot and St. Lawrence subsequent 11-4 domination in the game’s extra session were merely capsulations of an RPI collapse that began with 11:31 remaining in the second half. The Saints went on an 18-6 run, during which Rensselaer made just two baskets and committed seven of the team’s 21 turnovers down the game’s final stretch.
“You’ve got to play a full 40 mintues against St. Lawrence,” Rensselaer Head Coach John Greene said. “We did not do that Saturday, and we have struggled to do it all season.”
The referees certainly aided St. Lawrence’s comeback rush as the Saints more than doubled the Red Hawks in both makes and attempts. Rensselaer controlled the first in part because of their ability to get to the charity stripe, going 7-11. However, in the second, the officials swallowed their whistles, refusing to offer any support to a backpedaling Rensselaer club.
The overtime session revealed Rensselaer’s inexperience, as a frazzled RPI squad was no match for the sizzling Saints who hit 66 percent of their shots in overtime compared to the Red Hawks dismal 14 percent.
“Our offense went stagnant, especially in overtime,” Greene said. “We just couldn’t put the ball in the basket.”
St. Lawrence also dominated the glass in the contest outrebounding RPI, 43-31 and grabbing 14 offensive rebounds.
“We failed to put a body on a body and box-out,” Greene said. “Their forwards outrebounded and outscored our forwards.”
Seniors Kaitlyn Saunders and Amy Morin led Rensselaer with 17 and 13 points, respectively. Sophomore Kristi Baranowski added 10 for RPI. However, the Saints kept the Rensselaer seniors quiet in overtime, as Saunders managed just one point off a free-throw while Morin was held scoreless.
Saturday’s breakdown brought a disappointing end to what appeared to be a promising week for the Red Hawks, who were on a three-game conference winning streak.
Friday night the women cruised past the Golden Knights of Clarkson in dominating fashion, winning 65-45. Eight players scored for the Red Hawks in the victory, led by Saunders’ 25 and Baranowski’s 12.
The Red Hawks took a 12-point lead into halftime and extended the margin to above 20 several times throughout the second half. RPI did an excellent job controlling the ball in the contest, committing just 16 turnovers while forcing the Golden Knights to 25. Saunders, who was named Forward of the Week by the Liberty League, led the team with six steals as the Red Hawks constantly pressured Clarkson into mistakes.
The Clarkson turnovers created numerous fast-break opportunities for the Red Hawks. The easy baskets helped increase RPI’s shooting percentage to 37 percent and get to the free-throw line 25 times. Rensselaer hit an impressive 88 percent on the charity stripe.
The Red Hawks, who currently stand at 5-9 overall and 3-2 in conference play, have started to excel as anticipated since they entered Liberty League competition. However, Rensselaer is still struggling to put successful successive halves together, a problem highlighted by the St. Lawrence collapse this weekend.
This weekend RPI will conclude a four-game home stand ending with battles against Hamilton Friday at 6 pm and William Smith Saturday at 2 pm. The two games are crucial for the Red Hawks as they attempt to remain ahead of Hamilton (7-6, 2-2) in the Liberty League standings and hold on to the fourth and final playoff spot. William Smith will be an excellent measuring stick for Rensselaer, the Herons, who are 9-4 overall, sit atop the conference with a impressive 4-0 league record.
“We need both games this weekend,” Greene said. “But we have to beat Hamilton to stay ahead of them in the standings.”
