RPI - 67, Farmingdale State - 45
Troy, N.Y. - In their season opener, the Farmingdale State women's basketball team traveled to non-conference opponent Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute this evening and fell, 67-45.
Leading 3-2 in the opening minutes, the Engineers (3-0) scored 10 unanswered points to quickly extend their advantage to 11. With 2:15 left to play in the first quarter and FSC (0-1) down 22-8, the Rams used a pair of Angeline Klein (Levittown, N.Y.) free-throws and two minutes later back-to-back free-throws from junior guard Nia Miller (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to cut the deficit to 10 points, 22-12.
Over the first 5:12 of the second quarter, RPI outscored Farmingdale State 17-2 to open up their lergest lead of the game at 41-14. The Rams closed the half on a 6-2 run which included a 3-pointer by Klein and a jumper from sophomore forward Alexis Hunter (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to go into the break down, 43-20.
The Engineers led by 20 with 1:40 remaining in the third before senior guard Elizabeth Eckhardt (Albany, N.Y.) connected on a 3 off the pass by Sam O'Keefe (Allentown, PA) to increase the advantage to 23. Hunter's layup with 1:17 left was the final score of the quarter as FSC entered the fourth trailing, 53-32. In the final quarter, RPI edged the Rams, 14-13, en route to the 67-45 victory.
Farmingdale State was led offensively by Miller who scored a game-high 18 points, while Hunter had nine points on 4-of-9 shooting and secured a career-high 16 rebounds. Klein finished with a career-best 14 points after hitting four 3-pointers for the Rams.
RPI had four double-digit scorers as senior center LaKissa Martin (Las Vegas, NV) led the way with 18 points and eight boards. Eckhardt and junior guard Ines Ortea (Madrid, Spain) each pitched in with 16 points, while sophomore guard Courtney Lewis (Port Jefferson, N.Y.) had 10 points in the victory.
Farmingdale State next will travel to #1 and two-time defending National Champion Amherst tomorrow at 6:00 p.m.
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