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TROY, N.Y. - Sophomore Elizabeth Eckhardt scored 22 points and senior Lauren Young added 15 - career-highs for both players - as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's basketball team won its season opener, defeating Southern Vermont College (SVC), 77-45, at East Campus Arena. 

Eckhardt (Albany, NY / Guilderland), a guard, made 9 of 19 shots, including 4 of 7 from three-point range, on her way to leading all scorers. She was the catalyst in the second and third quarters when the Engineers outscored the Mountaineers 49-26 for a 62-30 lead after three quarters. RPI made nine shots in the second quarter (9 of 23) and 10 in the third (10 of 24), while holding Southern Vermont to five (5 of 10) and one (1 of 12), respectively.

In addition to her 22 points, Eckhardt also had four rebounds and a steal - one of 19 steals by the home team. Freshman guard Ines Ortea (Madrid, Spain / Fillmore Central) had five steals of her own, while Young, also a guard, collected three. A captain, Young also had a game-high five assists with a rebound in 25 minutes. Ortea finished with nine points, two rebounds and an assist, while Kinsley Rowan (Portland, OR / Sunset) had 10 points with three rebounds and a steal. Sophomore LaKissa Martin (Las Vegas, NV / Rancho) led all players with 10 rebounds, along with three points, an assist, a block and two steals.

Southern Vermont (0-1) put three players in double figures, led by senior Sarah McDonald's (Cohoes, NY / Cohoes) 14 points. She added seven rebounds and a block. Amber Dow (Panton, VT / Vergennes Union) and Sarah Poirier (Ferrisburgh, VT / Vergennes Union) both scored 13 points with Poirier adding eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks and three steals. Dow pulled down four rebounds and had two assists with two steals.

RPI, which had nine different players score at least two points, returns to the court on Friday at 7pm against Colby College as part of the Pepsi Mariner Classic hosted by Maine Maritime. SVC travels to Plattsburgh State for the Cardinal Classic on Saturday beginning at 6pm.