Box Score
Box Score

SALEM, Mass. – Despite a game-high 26 points from senior captain Whitney Coleman (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Etiwanda), the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's basketball team was unable to make a comeback, falling to Northwood University, 68-55, in game one at the Salem State Tip-Off Tournament. The game also marked the season opener for the Engineers.

RPI, which drops to 0-1 in the early season, returns to action on Saturday in the consolation game at 1pm. The Engineers will face the loser of game two between host Salem State College and Rhode Island College. The Seahawks are now 2-1 and will play in the championship game at 3pm against the winner of game two.

It was a back and forth battle to open the game as RPI surged from behind to tie the game up five times in the first nine minutes. A free throw shot by senior Amanda Brophy (Scituate, MA/Milton Academy) gave RPI its first lead of the game (14-13) at 10:51, but Northwood came roaring back with a 6-0 run for a 20-14 lead at 9:30.

The Seahawks held its lead until the 5:06 mark as back-to-back jumpers by sophomore Hillary McKinley (Quinebaug, CT/Tourtellotte Memorial) made it a 26-24 advantage at 4:32. Another layup by McKinley pushed the Engineers lead to six points (30-24) and Rensselaer held on for the 30-26 half-time advantage.

Northwood came out firing in the second half as a pair of free throws and a bucket by Taylor Wencis (Allen, TX/Allen) tied things up at 30-all at 19:25. RPI would regain the lead, but the Seahawks pushed back, going 11-0 over the next two minutes for a 42-32 advantage with 17:01 left in the game.

Coleman, who had 12 points in the second stanza, tried to get the Engineers back into it with consecutive buckets, but the Seahawks built up a 12-point lead (53-41) with 9:24 remaining.

The Engineers closed the gap to nine (62-53) with 2:09 remaining, but Northwood continued to capitalize on RPI's four troubles in the final minute.

In addition to Coleman, who also had eight rebounds, McKinley had seven points and a game-best 10 rebounds. Sophomore Nicole Monroe (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) finished with 10 points, while Brophy added seven points.

For Northwood, Wencis had 15 points and five boards. Jessica Cooley (Birch Run, MI/Birch Run) added nine points and nine rebounds, while Christina Daniels (Barrington, RI/Barrington) and Ashley LaCount (Los Angeles, CA/Gardena) each had eight points.