Troy, NY – Trailing by 12 in fourth quarter, the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team put up 24 points in the final period to claim a 59-55 Liberty League victory over Rensselaer on Friday evening.

The Golden Knights moved to 10-14 overall and 6-11 in conference games, while RPI dropped to 11-13 and 5-12 in league games. Clarkson closes out the regular season on Saturday afternoon when the team takes on Skidmore College.

Both teams started off slow with just one basket each in the first five-plus minutes of the contest, but then they traded baskets over the next four minutes as things got rolling. In the final minute, Sydney Blaney hit a 3-pointer and Emilia Rojik made a layup at the buzzer to give RPI a five-point lead at the first break. In the second quarter, the score remained close thanks to Bella Doyle converting on a put back and then hitting a 3-pointer on the next possession to have the gap at only three points. However, the Knights would score just one more point on a free throw as the Engineers went to the locker room up by six.  

RPI weathered a mini-run by the Knights near the midway point of the third quarter to maintain its lead and expanded the margin to as many as 13 points when Ashlyn O'Neil made a free throw with 3:13 to go. At the start of the fourth, the Engineers again were up by double figures early, but the Knights came rolling back thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Raelin Burns and Addie Kea, pulling the Knights to within four with 4:42 to go. The two teams exchanged free throws in the next few minutes with the margin going back and forth between a one-possession and two-possession game.

That streak of one-point attempts came to an end when Cassidy Dumont hit a stop-and-pop jumper in the lane from about 12-feet away, making the score 53-52 in favor of the home team with roughly 90 seconds to play. Out of a timeout, Fallon Griffin hit a 3-pointer with a minute to play, putting the Knights up for the first time since late in the first quarter. On the ensuing possession, Bella Doyle blocked a layup attempt and the Knights came back down the court (with a timeout in between) and Doyle found Raelin Burns underneath for a layup as the shot clock was winding down for another key basket. RPI did score shortly after a timeout to cut the lead back to two, but Doyle hit two free throws with 14.1 seconds to go to clinch the contest.  

Doyle scored 13 of her 18 points in the second half while also adding in five rebounds and four assists. Raelin Burns scored 13 points, Cassidy Dumont chipped in 12, and Fallon Griffin had nine points and eight boards.

For the Engineers, Sydney Blaney and Ashlyn O'Neil each scored 11 points. Clarkson shot 7-for-14 in the fourth quarter with three 3-pointers, while RPI shot just 2-for-12, making only one basket over the final five minutes of the contest.