Two games remained on the regular season schedule for the RPI women’s basketball team. The Red Hawks were on the road for weekend action with William Smith and Hamilton as they looked to stay sharp with the Liberty League Playoffs looming in the nearby future if all things went right.
On Friday against William Smith, things started off fine; in fact, RPI was on top for the first four minutes of play. However, with the game tied 10-10 midway through the half, the Herons went on a 15-4 run to take a solid 11-point lead.
William Smith would stay on top all the way until the break, as they shot 44 percent from the floor in the first half. Rensselaer, however, would cut the deficit to seven on a jumper by senior Kristi Baranowski right before the buzzer with just six seconds remaining on the clock.
In the second half, the Red Hawks would continue to play from behind. A tremendous comeback effort saw RPI claw back to within five points with just over four minutes left in the game, but things unfortunately would take a turn for the worst for Rensselaer.
From that point on, until the end of regulation, William Smith scored 15 of the game’s final 20 points. Solid free throw shooting, 13-15, sealed the deal for the Herons—who went on to win by a final score of 60-45.
The Red Hawks struggled in the second half, shooting just 27 percent from the field and going 1-10 from the three-point line. Sophomore Whitney Coleman led the way for RPI, scoring 15 points and collecting five rebounds. Baranowski added eight and five, respectively.
William Smith was paced by freshman Erin Cunningham, who had a terrific performance with game highs of 22 points and 11 rebounds. Two other Herons reached double figures. Stephanie Czajkowki tallied 14 points, while Marisa Vespa contributed 11.
RPI took on Hamilton on Saturday. The Continentals opened the game on an 8-0 run to take an early lead. The Red Hawks fought back and brought the score closer as the competition began to heat up.
With all the players on the team beginning to click and contributing as one unit, Rensselaer cut the Hamilton lead to just three after junior Brittney O’Neal put in a lay-up in the first half’s final minute. Headed into halftime, that would be the margin with the score at 25-22.
In the second half, the Red Hawks came out strong and tied the game up at 27 apiece at the 16:56 mark. There would be two more lead changes before Hamilton would be on top for good as it looked to close out the contest. The score and competition would remain close for the majority of the continuing minutes of play, but things got slightly out of reach for RPI in the final 60 seconds as the Continentals were up by 11.
A combination of strong defense from Hamilton and a poor shooting night from the floor led to the Red Hawks’ demise as they went on to lose by a final score of 59-48. RPI shot 10-33 from the field in the first half (30 percent), and 11-40 (27.5 percent) in the second half. It was another bad night from behind the arc as well as RPI shot a woeful 2-17 from three-point range.
Hamilton junior Sydney Fasulo caused all sorts of problems for the Red Hawks as she scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Fasulo shot 8-14 from the floor and helped the Continentals pull away late in the second half. Junior Pumla Sathula also had a double-double for Hamilton, with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Coleman was again the high scorer for RPI as she filled the stat sheet with 12 points, seven boards, three assists, and two steals. Classmate Caitlyn Charest also gave the Red Hawks a shot in the arm with 11 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
With the regular season over, the RPI women finished with an overall record of 15-10 and 8-6 in the Liberty League. It was a strong year for the Red Hawks, who have once again established themselves as a force on the hardwood. Their next task will be the Liberty League Playoffs. The women, who earned the fourth seed, will square off against William Smith, who has the No. 1 seed, on Friday night.
