Potsdam, N.Y. - Sam Krumbhaar got hot from the perimeter in the second half and turned Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's (RPI) small deficit into an 11-point win, 61-50, over Clarkson University in a women's basketball game at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Engineers improved to 15-9 overall and 11-6 in the Liberty League, clinching the No. 4 seed in the upcoming conference post-season tournament. The Golden Knights fell to 7-16 and 3-14. Clarkson closes out the regular season on Saturday against Union College, while RPI travels to take on St. Lawrence University before a home game on Tuesday against either William Smith College or RIT.

The third quarter proved to be the difference on Friday, as RPI outscored Clarkson 18-8. Krumbhaar scored 17 of her game-high 24 points in the second half, including a stretch of nine points in less than three minutes to open up the period.

Both teams started off fairly slowly, though Clarkson did score on its first possession of the game. Each team had just one field goal in the first six minutes before finally breaking through on offense. RPI closed out the period shooting 5-for-18 and Clarkson was 3-for-13.

The second quarter again had a slower pace with a few opportunities going down to the wire on the shot clock. RPI held a modest advantage of five points on two different occasions, but Clarkson chipped away with some long range shots. The game was tied at 23-23 when Rachel Marion went into the lane, converted a layup and made the ensuing free throw, before Mariah Benavides followed with a 3-pointer with a shade under 90 seconds remaining to give Clarkson its first lead since it was 2-0. A short jumper by Celia Tomlinson pulled the Engineers back to within one in the final minute.

Clarkson was much better in the second quarter on offense, shooting 6-for-12 from the floor, while the Engineers were only a touch better at 6-for-17. Benavides had 10 points in the first half on 3-for-5 shooting, while Tomlinson tossed in nine points and snagged four rebounds.

RPI outscored Clarkson by 10 in the third quarter, including a 14-3 run in the first five minutes for a 39-29 lead. The Golden Knights closed to within four in the early moments of the fourth when Hannah Earl hit a 3-pointer and followed with a pair of free throws on the next possession. However, the Engineers responded with eight straight points, including a pair of 3-pointers from Krumbhaar. RPI held at least a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, save for a late free throw that pulled Clarkson within nine in the waning moments.

Krumbhaar added four rebounds and a steal to go with her 24 points, which move her into sixth in school history in career scoring (1191). Classmate Ines Ortea chipped in 12 points and seven boards, while Tomlinson, also a senior, had 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots.

Benavides led the Knights with 16 points, shooting 5-for-11 from the floor with four 3-pointers, and Marion added 10 points and eight boards.