BENNIGTON, Vt. – The visiting Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers raced out to an early 8-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back Wednesday evening—eventually downing Southern Vermont College by a score of 100-46 in non-conference women's basketball action at the Mountaineer Athletic Center.
RPI brought a 47-22 upper hand into the locker room and was able to extend the separation over the final 20 minutes to walk out with the victory in the opening night of Division III play.
The Mountaineers (0-1) are back in action this Saturday as they travel to non-conference, inner-state rival Green Mountain College for a 3 p.m. start. The Engineers (1-0) host the RPI Tip-off Tournament this weekend—first taking on Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at 4 p.m. on Friday in the opening round of the classic.
Southern Vermont was led offensively by junior Maddy Main (Bennington, Vt.) who dropped a game-high 19 points while adding seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks to her line. Sophomore Sarah Poirier (Ferrisburgh, Vt.) added another 12 points and seven boards as freshman Brenna Hudson (Malone, N.Y.) tallied six points and an additional seven rebounds in her collegiate debut.
RPI saw five players reach double figures with junior Elizabeth Eckhardt (Albany, N.Y.) notching a team-leading 17 points. Junior LaKissa Martin (Las Vegas, Nev.) followed with 16 and four rebounds, four assists, and four steals, and freshman Courtney Lewis (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) came off the bench to tally 14 points while tying the game-high of seven boards.
The Engineers connected on 40-of-84 (47.6 percent) field goal attempts as SVC shot at a 30.6 percent (15-49) clip from the floor. Southern Vermont, however, was more efficient from both 3-point range (35 -31.3 percent) and at the free throw line (75 percent-65.2 percent).
RPI jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter by starting the game on an 8-0 run. A 3-pointer by Poirier got the Mountaineers on the board and cut the deficit to five, but the Engineers responded by going on a 17-5 surge to close out the quarter—a run that was capped off by a long three from freshman Lyndsey Stone (Binghamton, N.Y.) with 12 seconds left.
The Engineers extended their lead to 32-7 in the second stanza by scoring the quarter's first-five points. The Mountaineers were able to cut into the deficit with a 13-0 run which was highlighted by some good outside shooting from Poirer and sophomore Dani Biggers (Broadalbin, N.Y.). The Engineers used six points from Martin to close the first half on a 15-2 run, however, and go into the break with a 47-22 lead.
RPI continued to pressure the Mountaineers and padded its cushion in the third quarter. Main registered eight points in the period, but the Engineers persisted and used a balanced attack to finish the frame with a 72-37 lead.
In the final quarter, the visitors continued to stifle the Mountaineers' offense while their solid shooting kept up. RPI held SVC to nine points in the fourth en route to their sizable win.
– #LetsGoSVC –