The last two seasons the Rensselaer women’s basketball team has gotten the best of Oneonta State in the ECAC Tournament semifinals. This history favored RPI as they headed into their March 2 match-up with the Red Dragons.
Unfortunately, as Rensselaer discovered, all good things do come to an end as the fourth-seeded Red Dragons convincingly defeated the visiting fifth-seeded Red Hawks 72-64 in Oneonta, N.Y., in the first round of the ECAC Tournament, officially ending RPI’s up and down season.
In what looked to be an even game at the statistical level—RPI and Oneonta either tied or were within one of each other in turnovers, rebounds, and steals—the Red Dragons found a way to dominate the Red Hawks; they made more shots. Oneonta shot a dominating 48 percent from the field, including 50 percent from beyond the three-point arc, compared to a mediocre 36 percent for Rensselaer.
RPI was able to hang close to Oneonta early, actually leading 15-14 at the 12:32 mark in the first half. That, however, would be the last time the Red Hawks would ever possess the lead. The Red Dragons took back the lead on their next possession off a Teresa Busweiler jumper, and by halftime, Oneonta had increased the margin to six.
Free throws kept RPI in the game as the Red Hawks shot 14-25 from the charity stripe, while the Red Dragons managed to go just 7-10 for the game. However, even 15 extra attempts from the free-throw line were not going to be enough to displace white-hot Oneonta.
In the second half, the Red Dragons opened with an 18-9 run, extending the margin to 15 at the 12:25 mark, effectively burying Rensselaer’s hopes of a comeback and the Red Hawks’ season. RPI made a valiant but futile effort to rally, eventually managing to reduce the lead to single digits, 70-61, with just over two minutes to play.
Oneonta clamped down defensively, only allowing the desperate Red Hawks tough looks at three-pointers. Rensselaer did manage to reduce the lead to eight in garbage time.
The loss reflected Rensselaer’s entire season; it was inconsistent. After struggling out of the gate and opening the season 2-7, the Red Hawks rallied to go 9-5 in Liberty League play. But RPI did lose its last two regular season games against William Smith and Hamilton, eliminating them from the Liberty League Tournament. They appeared tired in their ECAC Tournament loss to Oneonta.
The loss marks the end of a fabulous four-year career for senior co-captain Kaitlyn Saunders. The Windsor, Conn., native led all scorers with 19 points in the loss, while tallying five steals and five rebounds. Saunders leaves Rensselaer as the women’s basketball program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,506 career points.
Senior co-captain Amy Morin and senior Stephanie Pelletier also ended their careers in Oneonta last Wednesday. Morin had five points, four assists, and seven rebounds in her final game. Forward Kristi Baranowski ended her freshman year on a positive note, compiling another double-double, with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Noreen Naughton, Kristen Wittig, and Allie Sullivan all reached double figures for the Red Dragons. Naughton led Oneonta with 18 points, while Wittig and Sullivan added 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Oneonta lost to top seed St. John Fisher 81-68 on Saturday, March 5 in the tournament semifinal and Union defeated the University of Rochester 64-57 in the other semifinal contest. The Cardinals squeaked out a win in the Sunday afternoon championship game against the second seeded Dutchwomen, 73-70.
