ORANGE, Calif. – Despite a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds from junior Hillary McKinley, the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's basketball team was unable to get past Chapman University, falling by a score of 71-57 on Wednesday evening. With the win, the Bulldogs are now 9-3 on the season, while the Engineers drop to 3-5 overall.

It was a close battle to open the game as neither team led by more than four points throughout the first half. Senior captain Allison Connor (Hudson, NY/Hudson) made it a three-point advantage (13-10) for the Engineers at the 15:40 mark, nailing a shot from beyond the arc. It was also the first bucket of the season for Connor, who returned to the lineup on Wednesday after recovering from a pre-season injury.

The Bulldogs mounted a comeback at 11:03 as senior Christina Ly (San Gabriel, CA/San Gabriel) sank a three-pointer of her own for a 22-18 lead, but Rensselaer found its way back late in the contest. McKinley (Quinebaug, CT/Tourtellotte Memorial) sank a jumper and drew the foul to go to the line. Her free throw makes pushed RPI ahead by two (39-37) with 53 seconds left in the half, but Brandi Hood (Norwalk, CA/John Glenn) dropped in a shot with five seconds on the clock to tie it at 39-all heading into the intermission.

The second half of action saw Chapman come out firing as they grabbed a nine-point lead (50-41) through the first six minutes. Connor's shot from three-point range cut the deficit to six (50-44) a at 13:03 and her jumper less than two minutes later made it a 52-48 lead for Chapman, but the Bulldogs continued to pressure.

Behind a three-pointer from Mary Petrie (Redmond, WA/Redmond) and jump shots from Hood and Simone Ibbotson (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison), Chapman opened its largest lead of the contest, 63-50 with 7:50 left in the game. 

Rookie Kyleigh Oliveira (Agawam, MA/Agawam) cut the Bulldogs lead back to 11-points (63-52) seconds later and Connor sank a pair of free throws down the stretch to cut the lead to nine (63-54), but the Bulldogs regained their double-digit lead with 3:55 remaining and went on to victory with the 14-point advantage.

Leading the way for Chapman was Ly, who recorded a game-best 15 points with four assists and five steals. Ibbotson and Hood each added 12 points in the victory. 

For the Engineers, Connor added 13 points in her return, while Oliveira chipped in with 11 points.

The Engineers conclude their California road trip on Thursday when they face the University of Redlands at 10:30pm (Eastern).  Live stats for the game against the Bulldogs can be found at http://livestats.prestosports.com/redlands/.