The RPI women’s basketball team had two games this week on back-to-back days, another busy week in what has been a jam-packed start to the season for the Rensselaer women. On Thursday, the Red Hawks battled Williams College at home before preparing to take on Mount Holyoke College the next night.
Versus the Ephs, RPI got off to a strong start and took a nine-point lead, 15-6, at the 12:16 mark. Williams hung around, though, and used a 9-0 run fueled by a strong, constant pressure defense on the Rensselaer women to tie up the game at 15 five minutes later. Seven ensuing lead changes followed over the next few minutes of play, but slowly the Ephs built up a significant lead of their own, and maintained a seven-point advantage, 32-29, headed into halftime.
In the second half, things took a turn for the worse for the Red Hawks, who were held to a woeful 21 percent shooting from the field in the frame. Williams, however, continued to keep the pressure on and refused to let up as they added to its lead, which blew up to 19 at the 15:16 mark—54-35.
Rensselaer continued to try and play catch-up, but there was a lot of ground to make up. The women worked the margin down to 13 with 13 minutes left on the game clock, but then saw it slide back up to 20 six minutes later.
RPI continued to battle for the duration of the game, but that was about all they could do, falling by a final score of 70-55. The Red Hawks turned the ball over 24 times, which ultimately was their demise.
Junior Mika Peterman had a game-high 19 points—13 in the second half—for Williams. Freshman Taylor Shea also had a strong game with 17 points and seven boards. For RPI, junior Elizabeth Barker recorded a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Senior Tory Lyons added 12 and six.
On Friday against Mt. Holyoke, this time on the road, it was again the Red Hawks who snagged the early advantage. As the minutes passed, Rensselaer built up a nice cushion going up by as many as 15 points, 21-6 at the 7:40 mark. The Lyons, however, went on a 9-0 run to trim the deficit to six with 1:35 left in the first half, and at the break, RPI was ahead 26-17.
When play resumed, Mt. Holyoke carried over its strong play from the end of the first half, and four minutes into the second, the Lyons found themselves down just three, 28-25. That is as close as they would get, though, as the Red Hawks kicked it into high gear and dominated for the remainder of the game.
Rensselaer’s largest lead of the second half was 13 at the 11:56 mark, and when the final seconds ticked off the game clock, RPI won by a score of 56-44. The Red Hawks’ balanced offensive attack was led by senior Brittney O’Neal, who scored 11 points; classmate Missy Jackman, who tallied five rebounds and five assists; and Barker, who had another double-double with 12 points and an astounding 21 rebounds. Sophomore Caitlyn Charest also filled the stat sheet with 11 points, four assists, and three steals. Sophomore Jess Olson was the catalyst for the Lyons, having an amazing game of 21 points and 21 rebounds.
The Red Hawks are now 3-4 on the season, but do not play again until the end of December. The women will participate in the South Padre Island Shootout from the December 28–30, and will open the tournament with a first round match-up against St. Joseph’s College of New York.
