Box Score

Potsdam, NY – Sophomore forward Tory Lyons (Feeding Hills, MA/Agawam) tallied a game-high 17 points and a team-best seven rebounds to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women’s basketball team to a 59-49 win over Liberty League rival Clarkson this afternoon. The Red Hawks improve to 11-7 overall with a 5-4 league mark. The Golden Knights are now 5-15 overall and 1-8 in Liberty League action.

Clarkson jumped out to an early lead through the first ten minutes, but a 10-0 run with four close shots and two free throws gave the Red Hawks a 23-16 lead. The Knights closed out the half with four of the final six baskets to cut the RPI advantage to 28-24 through the first 20 minutes.

Senior guard Erika Fritjofson (East Barre, VT/Spaulding) led all scorers with eight points in the first half. Lyons scored seven points to lead the Red Hawks. Rensselaer shot just 28.2 percent from the floor in the first half, going 11-for-39 from the field.

The Red Hawks steadily extended their lead throughout the half to eventually reach double figures, but the Golden Knights kept the pressure up, cutting into the lead in the final minutes with two 3-point field goals and a couple of free throws, giving RPI a six point advantage with less than a minute remaining. The Red Hawks went 4-of-4 in free throw opportunities late in the game for their final 10-point lead.

Pulling 70 shots and grabbing 55 rebounds through the game, Rensselaer was able to take advantage of its superior size with numerous second chance opportunities on the offensive end while ending the Knights’ chances for multiple shots.

Junior Vanessa Westcott (Parish, NY/A.P.W./Jefferson CC) led Clarkson with 13 points while Fritjofson added 11 points, each playing 40 minutes.

Lyons, who shot 8-for-14 from the field, added one assist and a steal in 28 minutes for the Red Hawks. Junior forward Kristi Baranowski (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) added 10 points and five rebounds (2 offensive) while freshman guard Caitlyn Charest (Swansea, MA/LaSalle Academy) chipped in nine points, four rebounds, five assists and three steals in the game.

Rensselaer is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Vassar for a 6pm tip-off against the Brewers. Clarkson also returns to conference action on Tuesday when they host St. Lawrence (6pm).