Box Score
Box Score

NEW LONDON, N.H. - The Rensselaer women's basketball team held Colby-Sawyer to just 28.9% shooting as they defeated the Chargers, 69-59, on Tuesday afternoon.  The Engineers, who were led by a game-high 15 points from Whitney Coleman, improve to 5-6 on the season.  Colby-Sawyer drops to 3-8 overall.

The first half was an offensive struggle for each team. RPI shot 32% and was 0-8 from beyond the arc, while Colby-Sawyer hit on 9-36 shots from the floor. The Engineers held a five point advantage at the break behind seven points each from Coleman (Rancho Cucamonga, CA/Etiwanda) and Hillary McKinley (Quinebaug, CT/Tourtellotte Memorial).

The Chargers were able to stay close on eight points and eight rebounds by Terri Duffy (Marshfield, Mass.) and seven points from Cailin Bullett (Millbury, Mass.).

After an early burst from the Chargers to begin the second half, RPI retaliated with a 27-4 run thanks to some hot shooting from three-point land. The Engineers connected on 6-9 in the second half and shot 44% from the floor. Junior Allison Connor (Hudson, N.Y.) keyed the RPI run with three three-pointers. She finished with nine points.

The Chargers made a 22-6 run in a five-minute span in the final ten minutes of the game to cut the RPI lead down to nine. However, the run was not enough as RPI knocked down a few critical free throws near the end of regulation.

In addition to Coleman, who added five rebounds, three assists and two steals, RPI saw McKinley finish the contest with nine points and eight rebounds. Lauren Hayes (Rensselaer, NY/Columbia) added 10 points on 3 for 5 shooting, while Nicole Monroe (Syracuse, NY/West Genesee) had six points and eight rebounds.

Colby-Sawyer was led by the fourth double-double of the season from Duffy. She finished with 15 points and a game-high 18 rebounds. The 18 boards ties her with Emma Pasquale '09 for 8th on the Colby-Sawyer all-time rebounds list. Freshman Maddy Hawkins (Lancaster, Mass.) had seven points and a game-high four assists in 10 minutes of action.

The Chargers return to the court on Thursday with a 5:30pm tilt at Middlebury. Rensselaer is back in action on January 15 & 16 when they open Liberty League play at St. Lawrence and Clarkson, respectively.