This past weekend proved to be a live or die weekend for the Rensselaer women’s basketball team as the Red Hawks welcomed two of the Liberty League’s top teams to the Armory; in the 3-2 Hamilton Continentals and the 4-1 William Smith Herons. However, after two brutal games that could have put the team’s playoff hopes on life support, the Red Hawks are now thriving.
A 59-50 win over Hamilton on Friday and a 77-68 stomping of the Herons on Saturday lifted Rensselaer to second place in the Liberty League, one game behind rival Union for the conference’s top spot.
“This was a huge weekend for us,” senior point guard and co-captain Amy Morin said. “Good teams win close games, and we knocked off two key players this weekend.”
The Red Hawks proved they have fully recovered from their shaky preseason and are now quickly becoming the dominant force in the Liberty League that they have been over the last several seasons.
“We needed to win some tough games,” Rensselaer Head Coach John Greene said. “We leave this weekend knowing all of our difficulties in the non-conference schedule are paying dividends. We have finally realized how to close out close games.”
In both contests, RPI was able to jump on the visitors early due to their trademark pressure half-court man-to-man defense.
Hamilton hit just four field goals, and shot a little over 15 percent in the first half while William Smith committed 14 early turnovers against Rensselaer.
The Continentals and Herons were not about to succumb willingly to the Red Hawks. Despite trailing 31-19 at halftime, Hamilton slowly closed the gap on RPI, eventually narrowing the lead to just one after a lay up by Allie Massaro.
Freshman Missy Jackman drained the first of her two three-pointers at the 12:48 mark to successfully end the Continental push. Jackman’s second three-ball would come just minutes later ending yet another Hamilton run.
“Her threes were certainly timely,” Greene would say of Jackman’s six points. Jackman, who has seen a steady increase in playing time since the Middlebury game, has become more confident in her shot, giving the Red Hawks a much desired outside shooter.
Jackman certainly had help. Senior co-captain Kaitlyn Saunders dropped in her standard performance: 18 points, four assists, and three steals, while fellow freshman Tory Lyons posted 13 points and grabbed six rebounds.
“Everyone has stepped up huge for us,” Morin said. “At the beginning of the season we had no idea what to expect [from the underclassmen]. We had so many new players, but now they have become essential to our success.”
Another key to Rensselaer’s success is their athleticism, and the team’s ability to get to the basket. Both Hamilton and William Smith normally press their opponents aggressively, but both teams backed off into a zone after the Red Hawks dismantled their full-court traps early in the first half.
“We love to see the press,” Greene said. “It allows us to really get up and down the floor and turn our athletes loose.”
Against the zone, however, patience has become the Red Hawks’ secret to cracking the code. Rensselaer demonstrated excellent patience throughout each contest, attacking the gaps, delivering the ball inside, and crashing the offensive glass.
RPI’s aggressiveness on offense paid dividends as the Red Hawks got the free-throw line 29 times, hitting on 21 attempts against Hamilton, and made 22 trips to the charity stripe, draining 17 versus the Herons.
“We had an awful time getting the calls,” Greene said. “The officials were allowing the game to get real physical out there, but we just kept going inside and eventually forced them to make the calls.”
William Smith suffered the same fate as Continentals did the previous day. The Herons shot 46 percent in the first half, and manage to grab a 15-8 lead with 14:46 remaining in the first half, but this brief margin would simply mark the starting point of the Red Hawks dominance. Rensselaer would steal the lead for good at 23-21 with six minutes left in the first half.
The Red Hawks would go on a 19-6 run to end the half, taking a double digit lead into the break.
William Smith did make a valiant, but fruitless, comeback effort led by freshman sensation Marissa Vespa, who finished with 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Vespa and the Herons would get the margin down to two points several times, only to have Jackman deliver yet another dagger.
With the Red Hawks clinging to a 60-58 lead, Jackman drained her second three-pointer of the night, officially ending the Herons last big rally. Saunders poured in 24 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Destany Eagles delivered an 18-point and six-rebound showing, and Lyons produced 12 points off the bench.
Eagles was a huge spark for Rensselaer as she not only held Vespa in check, but outscored and out rebounded the freshman star.
“[Eagles] took it as a personal challenge,” Morin said. “She wanted to take out the other team’s best player.”
Greene was extremely impressed, but entirely surprised by Eagles’ ability to outperform her opponent.
“She really showed what she is capable of,” Greene said. “The progression she has made over the past year and a half is starting to show. She can really attack the basket and make things happen.”
Eagles was honored by the Liberty League this week along with two of her teammates, Saunders and Lyons. Eagles, who averaged 11 points this weekend, received the Co-Guard of the Week award.
Saunders’s average line of 21 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 4.5 steals earned the Co-Forward of the Week honor for the second straight week while Lyons was acknowledged as Co-Rookie of the Week for her 12.5 point and five rebound averages.
The women’s team will travel to the North Country to take on St. Lawrence, Friday at 6 pm and Clarkson Saturday at 2 pm.
The Red Hawks will be looking to gain ground on the Saints in the conference standings and avenge a 69-62 overtime loss suffered at the hands of the Saints over a week ago. Greene, although pleased with this past weekend’s results, knows his team has many challenges ahead.
“We have to continue to work hard and look games through from start to finish,” Greene said, something the Red Hawks failed to do against St. Lawrence. “It’s a big trip...it will have a big impact on our season.”
