Box Score Box Score

AMHERST, MA – Trinity's Claire Arnstein led all players with 27 points, six rebounds and three assists as the Bantoms defeated the Rensselaer women's basketball team, 76-69, in the Amherst Classic.  With the result, Trinity improves to 4-2 on the year, while RPI falls to 1-4.

For her efforts, Arnstein was named to the All-Tournament Team, alongside RPI's Allison Connor (Hudson, NY/Hudson), who finished with 16 points and five rebounds.

RPI played very well in the early going, and rallied from a 10-8 deficit with 13:00 minute to play in the first half to take a 20-12 lead on an Amanda Brophy (Scituate, MA/Milton Academy) layup at the 7:02 mark. The eight point lead was the Engineers' largest of the day, as Trinity finished the first half on a 16-7 run to take a 28-27 lead into the break.

In the second half, Trinity jumped out of the gates en route to a 44-33 lead on an Arnstein layup at the 13:00 minute mark. The Bantam lead hovered around a dozen points for much of the second stanza, until a 6-2 run by Trinity late in the half gave the Bantams a 73-53 lead with 2:36 to play.

To RPI's credit, they never gave up down the stretch, and nearly pulled off the comeback. With the Trinity lead sitting at 16 points and just 34 seconds remaining, the Engineers went to work. After a pair of Whitney Coleman (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Etiwanda) free throws, RPI forced a turnover, leading to a Laura Easterling (Ventura, CA/Ventura) three pointer.

Coleman then caused another turnover in the backcourt and scored en route to a three-point play. In just 17 seconds, RPI closed the gap to 75-66. Time ran out on the Engineers, as they were only able to muster another pair of free throws and ended the game trailing 76-69.

Arnstein was supported by Kaitlin Ciarleglio with 11 points and four rebounds. Coleman led RPI in scoring with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Easterling added 10 points of her own.  The Engineers make their home debut at the brand new East Campus Arena on Tuesday night against Williams (6pm).