Box Score
Box Score / Video

NORTON, Mass. – Senior Whitney Coleman (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Etiwanda) posted a game-high 17 points to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's basketball team to a 77-58 win over Wheaton College on Tuesday. The Red Hawks, who have now won five straight games, improve to 5-1 on the season while the Lyons drop to 3-2 overall.

Rensselaer found itself down early to start the game as Wheaton held a nine point lead just 12:41 in led by a layup by senior Krystin Hickey (Manchester, NH/New Hampton School). The homestanding Lyons gained an 11 point advantage just seconds later, but the Red Hawks quickly battled back, going on a 12-0 run over the next six minutes for its first lead of the game.

A jumper by senior Ellen High (Plaistow, NH/Timberlane Regional) at 6:32 gave RPI a one-point lead and the Red Hawks continued to build its lead as time ran down. Behind a layup at 1:25 by Coleman, Rensselaer held a 36-27 lead and held on to the nine-point advantage for the remainder of the half.

RPI, which shot over 50% from the floor in the first half, saw Coleman and rookie Sarah Wetmore (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln Sudbury Regional) each tally nine points to lead the charge.

The second half of action saw Rensselaer continue to dominate, building up a 12-point advantage at 16:27 off a pair of free throws by senior Elizabeth Barker (Suffield, CT/Cathedral). Wheaton attempted to chip away at the lead as junior Ida Kruse (Vershire, VT/Rivendell Academy) made a layup at 13:29 and drew the foul to go to the line where she sunk her shot to make it a nine-point game (50-41).

Gaining the momentum back in their favor, the Red Hawks once again found themselves ahead by double digits as consecutive layups by senior Kerry Hayes (Nashua, NH/Nashua North) and Wetmore pulled the visitors ahead by 12 (57-45 with 10:19 remaining.

Successful free throws by Wheaton junior Andrea Bailey (Needham, MA/Needham) cut the RPI lead to 15 (67-54) with 3:53 remaining and another successful shot from the line by Shelby Pelkey (Chelsea, ME/Cony) saw the visitors lead down to 14.

The Lyons were unable to bounce back as solid shooting down the stretch by Wetmore and Coleman sealed the victory for the Red Hawks, who shot 52.8% from the field in the game.

In addition to Coleman, who also had five rebounds and a game-high seven assists, Rensselaer saw Wetmore post 16 points, six rebounds and three assists. Barker added eight points and a game-best 11 rebounds while rookie Nicole Monroe (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) had nine points.

Wheaton, which shot just 33.3% from the field in the game, saw Kruse finish with a team-high 12 points. Hickey added 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds while senior Bri Smith (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) also scored 11 points on the night.

The Red Hawks (4-1) return from the holiday break with a game on Wednesday, December 4 against Mt. Holyoke at Robison Gym (8pm). The Lyons are in action on Tuesday, December 2 when they travel to Roger Williams for a 7pm tilt.