Tigers Squeak Past Knights, 62-59

Freshman Raeanne Clabeaux had 12 points and 10 rebounds against RIT on Friday. - Photo by Lauren Magin

Potsdam, NY – Despite a pair of last minute 3-pointers to cut the deficit, two free throws from Kayla Wheeler finished off the Clarkson University Women’s Basketball team’s hopes of a comeback, as RIT downed the Golden Knights 62-59 in Liberty League action Friday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Knights fell to 7-11 overall and 2-8 in the Liberty League with the loss, while RIT held on to its conference tournament hopes by improving to 9-10 and 5-5. Clarkson will host William Smith on Saturday, while the Tigers will travel to take on St. Lawrence.

The first half was one of runs. A Jackie Hom 3-pointer for RIT gave the Tigers an 8-5 lead at the 15:59 mark, but Clarkson went on a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to take a nine-point lead, capped off by a Marissa Pelosi (Medfield, MA) lay up at the 10:39 mark. However, the Tigers came back on a 10-0 run of their own just three minutes later, taking the lead 18-17 after a pair of free throws from Audrey Mincey. RIT pushed its lead to five points two minutes later, but once again Clarkson had a run, topped by a Raeanne Clabeaux (New Woodstock, NY) lay up with a minute left in the half, making the score 30-24. The Tigers reduced the gap to four points before the half.

The two teams combined for 36 turnovers in the first half as neither team took care of the basketball particularly well. Clabeaux had eight points and six rebounds for Clarkson, while Brooke Butkovsky (Monroe, CT) tossed in six points on 3-for-3 shooting. For RIT, Sarah Wolcott had six points, five rebounds, and three steals, and Leslie Havens chipped in five points, four rebounds, and three assists.

In the second half, Clarkson held on to its slim advantage by denying the Tigers any runs like they enjoyed in the first half. However, the Knights couldn’t put anything together either, as the two teams jockeyed back and forth. The Tigers, trailing by as many as six in the second half, finally came all the way back to claim the lead at the 9:35 mark, but from there the two teams tussled around to exchange the lead as well as several ties. RIT, however, finished the game with a run, going on a 12-2 run in the final five minutes to take a nine-point lead, 60-51. Three-pointers from Noelle Miller (Hamburg, NY) and Clabeaux cut the lead to three, but two free throws from Wheeler with just seven seconds remaining made any last ditch effort by the Knights hopeless.

Clabeaux finished with a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while also adding in five assists and five steals. Butkovsky ended with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting, and added three steals. For RIT, Wheeler had 18 points and 10 rebounds, but shot only 6-for-17 from the field. She also added in three assists, two blocks and two steals. Wolcott also produced a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, adding in four steals.

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