It was a back-and-forth battle in the first half between both squads which saw Herons senior guard Pria Young (Richboro, PA/Council Rock) lead all scorers with 12 points. Freshman guard Whitney Coleman (Etiwanda, CA/Etiwanda) led the Red Hawks with seven points on 2-of-4 shooting. RPI took a narrow 2-point lead (30-28) into the intermission.
The Herons broke out offensively in the second half when a quick bucket by sophomore Marisa Vespa (Watertown, NY/Immaculate Heart) gave William Smith the lead for good at the 12-minute mark. The visitors went on a 14-0 run with four close shots and six free throws to take a 52-39 lead. The Red Hawks pulled to within 11 points (56-45) with less than three minutes remaining, but were unable to close the gap.
Sophomore forward Stephanie Czajkowski (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Ludden) led all scorers with 16 points and six rebounds on 6-of-12 shooting. Young added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Vespa chipped in with 11 points.
Coleman led the Red Hawks with a team-high 14 points and 11 rebounds (six offensive). She also had two assists, one block and one steal. Junior forward Kristi Baranowski (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) added 12 points and seven rebounds for Rensselaer, who shot just 27.0% from the field.
Rensselaer is back in action on tomorrow when it hosts Hamilton at 2pm. William Smith is also in action tomorrow traveling to Vassar for a 2pm tip-off.