GENEVA, N.Y. - The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's basketball team fell on the wrong side of a back-and-forth contest with the William Smith on Saturday afternoon, as they were defeated by a final score of 64-54 in Liberty League play. Junior Julia Rowe collected 12 points and seven rebounds, while Siena Smith added 10 points for the Engineers in the loss.

Leading the way for William Smith was a 16 point effort from Leia Brunt, as she finished 5-for-10 from the floor with seven rebounds. Maddie Patrick also added 13 points and nine rebounds nearly earning a double-double.

The Engineers opened the game on a 12-4 run to take an early lead. That mark was their largest of the day, as William Smith turned around a 14-5 run of their own to end the first quarter and into the second. A three-pointer from Amelia McCulley gave William Smith an 18-17 lead in the middle of the second quarter as they held a 27-26 lead at the half. 

It was a back-and-forth second half, as the Engineers had the advantage after three quarters as they took a 45-44 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes. However, RPI fell cold from the field, going just 2-for-22 in the fourth quarter for nine points as William Smith put the game away with  10-3 run over the final four minutes of play to earn the win.

RPI returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 1 p.m. when they take on Castleton on the road in their last non-conference matchup of the season before the new year.