Box Score
Box Score

ALBANY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's basketball team cruised to its first victory of the season on Tuesday, defeating Albany College of Pharmacy, 80-59. With the win, RPI improves to 1-2 in the early season, while the Panthers drop to 1-5 overall.

The Engineers were paced by double-digit efforts from three different student-athletes, including graduate student Whitney Coleman's (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Etiwanda) 20 points. It marked the second game of the season in which the guard has scored 20+ points.

It was a close battle in the opening half as the two teams played toe-to-toe, neither squad leading by more than four points. Trailing 8-7 at 16:01, Albany's Katie McCormack (Proctor, VT/Proctor) pushed the home team ahead with a layup. Sophomore Alex Oaks (Oaks Corners, NY/Midlakes) followed with a shot of her own seconds later to make it a three-point advantage (11-8) with 14:56 remaining.

The lead proved to be short-lived as the Engineers came storming back, regaining the lead on a layup and free-throw shot by sophomore Laura Easterling (Ventura, CA/Ventura).

Late in the half, RPI found itself down by a point (29-28) with just 1:34 remaining, but a three-pointer from Allison Connor (Hudson, NY/Hudson) pushed the visitors ahead by two (31-29) and the Engineers headed into halftime with a 32-29 lead.

In the second half, Rensselaer established momentum, opening up a seven-point lead (43-36) at 15:30 behind consecutive free throws from senior Amanda Brophy (Scituate, MA/Milton Academy) and rookie Kirsten Orrell (Millsbury, MA/Millsbury).

The Engineers continued to press over the next five minutes, establishing a double-digit lead at 11:23 on a layup by Brophy. RPI led by as many as 18 points (66-48) and continued to capitalize on Albany's foul troubles late in the game, posting a 61.5% (16 of 27) from the charity stripe for the game.

In addition to Coleman, who added nine rebounds, a game-best three assists, a steal and a block, RPI also saw Brophy post 14 points and seven caroms. Connor finished with 13 points and two steals.

For the Panthers, Kelly VanValkenburgh (Hunter, NY/Colonie) recorded a game-high 24 points with nine rebounds. Oaks added 13 points, while McCormack had 10 points.

The Engineers are back in action this weekend at the Amherst College Classic. RPI faces the host Jeffs on Friday (6pm) and battles Trinity the following day (4pm). Albany College of Pharmacy is back on the court on Thursday, hosting Morrisville State (7pm).