TROY, N.Y. – The RPI women's basketball team opened the 2026-27 season in convincing fashion on Friday evening, using a dominant second-half performance to secure an 88-68 victory over Nazareth University at ECAV Arena. The victory marked the first career win for head coach Megan Yawman, who began her tenure leading the Engineers with a 20-point triumph in the season opener.
Amanda Gallagher led the Engineers with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, adding six rebounds, five assists, and two steals.
Sophie Costello poured in 17 points, connecting on all three of her attempts from beyond the arc and all four free throws, while
Brooke Boyle contributed 14 points and four assists.
Sydney Blaney provided nine points off the bench on three three-pointers, while
Niamh Gendron added eight points and five rebounds.
The Engineers overcame an early 6-3 deficit with a 12-0 scoring run, sparked by a Costello three-pointer that gave RPI its first lead of the evening. Gallagher followed with a transition layup before Boyle connected from deep, pushing the advantage to 13-6.
Megan Heyns added a basket inside as the Engineers extended their lead to nine midway through the opening period.
Nazareth battled back in the closing minutes of the first quarter, trimming the margin to just two points before Blaney knocked down a three-pointer to give RPI a 22-17 advantage after 10 minutes of play.
The Engineers continued to find success offensively in the second quarter, with Boyle connecting on a three-pointer and Gallagher adding a layup to push the lead to 29-19. Another triple from Blaney extended the advantage to 11 points midway through the period, but Nazareth responded with a late surge to cut the deficit to four. Gallagher converted a basket in the final minute before the Golden Flyers scored at the buzzer, sending RPI into halftime with a 38-34 lead.
RPI came out firing to begin the second half, using an aggressive defensive effort to generate transition opportunities. Gendron opened the third quarter with a basket before
Danielle Strauf converted a three-point play and added another layup off a steal to extend the Engineers' advantage to 47-36.
Nazareth answered with a run of its own, connecting on several three-pointers to trim the RPI lead to 53-50 midway through the period. However, the Engineers responded with a decisive offensive stretch, beginning with a Gendron layup and a three-point play from
Callie Flynn. Blaney followed with another three-pointer, while Gallagher connected from long range in the closing seconds as RPI closed the third quarter on a 17-7 run to take a 70-57 advantage into the final period.
The Engineers maintained their momentum in the fourth quarter, with Costello connecting on a transition three-pointer before Gallagher added another shot from beyond the arc to extend the lead to 78-60. Gallagher continued to deliver offensively, converting a pair of free throws and a layup to push the advantage to 22 points midway through the period as RPI pulled away for the season-opening victory.
RPI finished the evening shooting 42.3% from the field and 41.7% from three-point range, connecting on 10 triples while converting a perfect 18-for-18 from the free-throw line. The Engineers recorded 22 assists on 30 made field goals, while holding a 41-37 advantage on the glass and outscoring Nazareth 38-32 in the paint.
The Engineers also generated 17 points off turnovers, collected 10 steals, and recorded five blocks, with Flynn contributing a team-high three rejections to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Strauf finished with seven points, five assists, and three steals as RPI outscored the Golden Flyers 50-34 in the second half.
