Engineers top Saints, bomb in semifinals versus Ithaca

After winning their last four regular season games, the Engineers earned the fourth seed in the Liberty League and the right to host a home playoff game. Rensselaer hosted the fifth seeded St. Lawrence Saints at ECAV Arena for the first round of the playoffs on Tuesday, February 21. Both teams focused their gameplans beyond the arc, as St. Lawrence’s Hannah Van Dyke and RPI’s Nicole DaPra knocked down triples on their teams first possessions. The two teams exchanged buckets again, tying the game at eight two minutes into the game. Then, Heather Converse began to take over for the Engineers, scoring nine points during a 14–7 run.

However, the Engineers' blazing start did not continue in the second quarter, and after shooting 9–15 in the first, they only made three of their 18 shots. After a slow start by both teams, Rensselaer’s Brielle Sharry knocked down a three. However, as RPI cooled off, St. Lawrence picked up steam, and free throws from Caelan McHarney tied the game at 25 a minute later. Four more points from Sharry helped the Engineers take back the lead, but McHarney tied the game again at the line. After a McHarney foul, Danielle Strauf drained two more from the charity stripe to give the Engineers a two-point lead going into the half.

Four lead changes in the third quarter prevented either team from breaking away. A layup from Saint’s guard Shannon Rhone tied the score at 33, and the game stayed within a possession for the duration of the quarter. With 2:10 left, Converse tied the game and then took the lead at the line. Two missed threes from Jackie Malley gave the Engineers a chance, and DaPra and Reynolds converted from downtown to take a seven-point lead.

Just as the Engineers started to gain momentum, Olivia Barringer pulled the Saints back into the game, scoring six points in the quarter. The first two gave St. Lawrence their biggest lead of the night, a pair of free throws brought them back within a possession in the final minutes, and finally a layup tied the game with 40 seconds remaining. After Lolo Reynolds turned the ball over with 11 seconds left, the Saints had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but a Van Dyke shot at the basket didn’t fall, so the game went to overtime. Both teams began the period at the line. The Saints’ Abby Doin and McHarney each knocked down two, while Converse notched a pair of her own. With the Engineers trailing two, Reynolds drained a three to kick off an 11–1 run. A layup from Sharry and free throw from Hannah McGrath widened the margin, but a three-point dagger from Reynolds put the Engineers up seven with 1:30 and pushed the game out of reach. The Engineers won 76–71, behind 19 points from Converse and a career-high 18 from Sharry.

On Friday, the Engineers faced the first seeded Ithaca Bombers on the road in the Liberty League Tournament Semifinals. The Engineers started cold, missing three jump shots and two free throws before Converse got a layup to fall. However, over six minutes passed until McGrath made a midranger in transition to get back on the board. The Bombers ended the quarter with a layup from Emily Dorn, regaining a ten-point lead and putting them ahead 14–4.

The Engineers continued to struggle and paired a 2–12 shooting performance in the first with a 3–16 outing in the second. Anhalese Pearson traded free throws with Lindsey Albertelli in the first minute. Marley Mueller, Sharry, and Reynolds made the only Engineer field goals of the period to try and keep the Bombers in reach. However, a 10–0 run in less than two minutes, led by five points from Dorn, extended the lead to 21 as the Bombers went into the break up 37–16.

Feeling the heat, the Engineers put up more balls from deep to try and cut the deficit. Six Engineers combined to put up 10 threes, but none hit the bottom of the net. The third quarter was tragic, as the Bombers outscored the Engineers 27–7. With 1:17 left in the period, an Anya Watkins layup brought the lead to 40. Another layup from Watkins opened the scoring in the fourth quarter, bringing the lead to a game-high 43 points. The Engineers offense began to click in the final period, but it was too late. Haley Jette knocked down the only Engineer three-pointer with 6:21 left, and six more Engineer buckets helped them outscore the Bombers 16–9 in the quarter.

The Bombers had their struggles on offense as well, putting up a season-high 24 turnovers, but they continued to knock down their shots, shooting 51.8% on the night. Their stifling defense, which held opponents to an average of 49.5 points and 33% from the field, pestered the Engineers all night, notching eight blocks, 12 steals, and forcing 17 turnovers. The Engineers ended the contest shooting 22.6% from the field, including hitting 4.3% from beyond the arc, and 50% from the line en route to a 73–39 shellacking. The Bombers went on to face the Skidmore Thoroughbreds in the championship game. A three-point shot from Dorn put the game within one with three seconds left, but they fell short 54–52 as the Thoroughbreds won the Liberty League title.

Click here for the box score of the game against St. Lawrence and here for the box score of the game against Ithaca.