POTSDAM, N.Y. – Senior Ahnalese Pearson hit a game-winning three-pointer as time expired on Friday night, finishing with a team-high 19 points as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's basketball team defeated the Clarkson Golden Knights by a final score of 56-53 on the road.
 
Pearson got things going early and often for the Engineers, along with Nicole DaPra as RPI jumped out to an early 13-10 lead after the first quarter. RPI continued a strong pace offensively into the second quarter, ultimately grabbing a 28-21 lead at halftime.
 
RPI saw Marley Mueller break out in the third quarter, as a pair of back-to-back layups kept the Engineers ahead by two possessions.
 
Early in the fourth, Clarkson evened the score for the first time in the game after an Addie Kea three-pointer to knot things up at 37-37. Then, they grabbed their first lead after a Bella Doyle layup to make it 39-37 with 8:37 to play.
 
Both sides went back-and-forth down the stretch, as Clarkson gained a lead by as many as five points with just over five minutes to play. However, Pearson came alive late, scoring five points in a 41 second span to give RPI a 51-49 lead with 2:02 to play.
 
After Clarkson re-tied the game, Julia Rowe hit two big free throws to put the Engineers back up two points, 53-51. But the Golden Knights came back with a bucket from Cassidy Dumont, re-tying the game at 53-53 to set up Pearson's game-winner. RPI missed their initial shot before gaining the ball back on a jump ball, setting up the inbound play that found Pearson on the extended wing for the three.
 
Backing up Pearson's 19 points was Mueller in double-digits with 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. The Engineers outrebounded Clarkson 42-31 on the game. Dumont led Clarkson with an 18-point night.
 
RPI returns to action tomorrow, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. when they face-off with St. Lawrence in their regular season finale.