CANTON, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's (RPI) three seniors combined for 56 points, 26 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals as the Engineers defeated St. Lawrence University 67-64 to finish the regular season on a four-game winning streak.
RPI is 16-9 overall and 12-6 in the Liberty League, earning the fourth seed in the upcoming tournament. It will host fifth-seeded William Smith College (14-11; 10-8) on Tuesday (time TBA). The second-seeded Saints are now 17-8 and 13-5 and take on sixth-seeded RIT (11-14; 9-9) on Tuesday.
Rensselaer senior guard Sam Krumbhaar led all players with 25 points, while classmates Ines Ortea and Celia Tomlinson had 16 and 15, respectively. Tomlinson, a forward, added game-highs of 18 rebounds and six assists, along with three steals. Ortea, a guard, chipped in with five rebounds, an assist and a steal, while Krumbhaar pulled down three rebounds, had an assist and tied Tomlinson for the game-high in steals with three.
Olivia Middleton led the Saints in scoring with 16 points, while Dylan Watkiss and Olivia Barringer both scored 10. Katie Fredericks had a team-best 15 rebounds to go with eight points for St. Lawrence, which turned the ball over 16 times and managed only two steals.
Rensselaer opened a 21-14 lead after the first quarter, but St. Lawrence controlled the second and third, outscoring their visitors 17-13 and 23-14 in those frames.
Leading 54-48 entering the fourth quarter, the Saints got a three pointer from Ava McCann to take a 57-48 lead 2:29 into the frame. The score remained that way until there was 6:39 left and Krumbhaar scored on a layup to make it 57-50. Following a steal by Tomlinson, Krumbhaar again scored at the rim, followed by a jumper from Ortea for a 57-54 deficit with 4:21 left.
Barringer hit a free throw to break Rensselaer's run, but a three from Brielle Sharry pulled the Engineers to within one and a pair of Krumbhaar free throws gave them a 59-58 lead with 1:21 left. Tomlinson then made a jumper for a 61-58 edge with under a minute to play and Nicole Da Pra added a pair of free throws.
Middleton knocked down a three to make it 63-61 with 11 seconds left, but Krumbhaar hit a free throw one second later and Ortea made one of her own after a steal off a rebound with seven seconds left. Watkiss scored from behind the arc, but a pair from the foul line by Krumbhaar sealed the win.
The Engineers have reached 16 wins for the first time since the 2011-12 season and will try to match the 2009-10 team's 17 victories on Tuesday. Their 12 conference wins are the most since 2000-01 when that team was 12-2 in the league (23-5 overall).
Seniors Lead Rensselaer Women to 16th Victory
RPI
67
St. Lawrence
64
Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
RPI (16-9,12-6 Liberty League) | 21 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 67 |
St. Lawrence (17-8,13-5 Liberty League) | 14 | 17 | 23 | 10 | 64 |
Feb 22, 2020