TROY, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's basketball team scored early and often on Saturday afternoon, as they came out with a commanding 72-40 victory over the Clarkson Golden Knights at ECAV Arena. The win gives RPI their first win in league play and moves them to 4-4 overall, while Clarkson falls to 2-5 and 0-2 in the Liberty League.
 
The Engineers opened with the first nine points of the game, capped by a three-pointer from Nicole DaPra. RPI continued to push, going up 17-2 with 1:58 left in the opening quarter after a Danielle Strauf layup. However, the Golden Knights ended the quarter on an 8-0 run as RPI led 17-10 after the first 10 minutes.
 
RPI bumped their lead in the second quarter to as many as 18 points, ending the first half up 17 points, 39-22. The Engineers went 10-for-13 (76.9 percent) from the floor in the second quarter.
 
The lead continued to grow through the third quarter, as a jumper from Tyler Hormazabal beat the buzzer to give the Engineers a 57-31 lead into the fourth. RPI shot 42.9 percent from the floor in the final frame, as they held Clarkson to just four total field goals in the second half.
 
DaPra finished with a team-high 24 points for the Engineers, going 10-for-12 from the field which included a 4-for-5 mark from three-point range. DaPra also collected eight rebounds along with Julia Rowe, and Siena Smith added a 12-point effort in the win. Rowe added a team-high six assists as well.
 
For Clarkson, Cassidy Dumont scored 15 points and snagged four steals while Addie Kea scored nine points.
 
RPI returns to action next Saturday, Dec. 9 at 2 p.m. when they square off at William Smith in Liberty League action.