Potsdam, NY – Sophomore Cassidy Dumont tossed in a team-best 23 points for the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team, but the Golden Knights came up short against RIT, 78-67, Friday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights saw their record fall to 7-11 overall and 4-9 in the Liberty League, while RIT edged up to 6-13 and 4-8. Clarkson will take on William Smith College on Saturday afternoon.

The two teams were fairly even for the opening four minutes of the game, with RIT edging forward to a 10-7 lead after an Erin DiPaola make in the lane, but Clarkson closed out the period on a big run. The Golden Knights outscored the Tigers 17-4 in the final five minutes, with the stretch getting capped off by a jumper Kailey Johnson with 38 seconds to go in the quarter.

At the start of the second, RIT quickly trimmed the margin back to single digits, scoring the first eight points of the period. Cassidy Dumont started making some key shots from the outside to make sure that the Knights held the lead, but foul trouble allowed RIT to sink free throws and jump back on top. In the last minute of the half, the lead changed three times, with Kaleesha Joseph making a layup at the 0:37 second mark, Dumont hitting a 3-pointer with 22 seconds to go to give the Knights the advantage again, and Joseph scoring on a layup-and-one with 1.9 seconds remaining for a 41-39 score at the break.

Dumont had 18 first-half points to lead the Knights, but RIT countered with 14 points from Kaleesha Joseph and 13 points by Erin DiPaola. The Tigers shot 10-for-13 from the field in the second quarter, with eight makes coming on layups.  

In the third, Clarkson fell behind by as many as five, but the game remained tight. It took the Knights nine minutes to push back ahead when Raelin Burns hit a shot with 1:06 to go in the period. Another basket from Elaina Porter had Clarkson up by three through 30 minutes.

The final margin did not indicate the closeness of the fourth quarter, as the two teams were separated by just one point after a make from Elaina Porter with 3:09 remaining, but the Knights' offense went cold down the stretch and RIT made its free throws to keep Clarkson at a safe distance in the final minute.

Dumont finished with 23 points, shooting 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, while Elaina Porter contributed a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds, as well as five assists. Mariah Benavides also chipped in 15 points and four assists for the Knights.

For RIT, Kaleesha Joseph had 24 points and 12 rebounds, shooting 11-for-15 from the floor. Erin DiPaola also was 9-for-13 from the field with 23 points while also adding nine rebounds.