CU Women's Basketball Preview - vs. Union/Rensselaer (1/27-28)

Three straight splits have left the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team in the middle of the conference standings, but the Golden Knights have an opportunity to put themselves on firmer ground with a pair of home contests against Union and Rensselaer.

The Golden Knights enter the weekend with a record of 9-8 overall and 4-4 in the Liberty League, while Union is 8-7 overall and 4-3 in league games. Rensselaer, which has St. Lawrence on Friday night, enters the weekend with a record of 6-12 overall and 1-8 in conference games. In the first match up against the Dutchwomen in early January, Clarkson struggled on offense after a strong first quarter and fell 57-41. Against Rensselaer the Knights had considerably more success with a 21-point victory.

Junior Devin Sorell is heating up at the right time as her scoring average has jumped three points over the course of the last seven games. Through 10 contests, Sorell averaged 11.1 points per game, but thanks to an average of 18.3 ppg over her last seven games her season average is now at 14.1. The start of that run came against Rensselaer when Sorell scored a season-high 26 points. Classmate Madison Shea enjoyed perhaps her best collegiate game on the same day when she nearly netted a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. Shea is second in the league with 3.8 assists per game and she leads the conference in steals at 2.8 per contest. Clarkson gets help from several other spots, with seniors Stephanie Grobe (10.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg), Alyssia Marsal (7.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 3.0 apg) and Kathleen Coloney (6.7 ppg, 4.6 rpg) making their presence known.

Union is the top defensive team in the conference, allowing just 51.3 points per game (first in the league), forcing 19.9 turnovers per game (first in the league) and a 34.4% success rate for opposing shooters (second in the league). The Dutchwomen have just enough offense to get by thanks to their defense, though there is no true go-to threat. Erin Lyons leads the team with 11.5 points per game, but she is the only player in double figures. Nicole Conley is the team's top threat from the perimeter with 27 3-pointers and a 39.1% rate from beyond the arc, giving her 9.8 points per game. Sophie Borg (7.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg), Jenni Barra (7.3 ppg), Natalie Leone (7.2 ppg) and Abby Katz (6.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg) also chip in to the well-rounded offense.

Rensselaer has won just one game in conference and is close to being eliminated from the playoff picture. The Engineers have picked up their pace in league play, however, and are a threat to play spoiler down the stretch. After losing the first five games of the league schedule by an average of 15 points, Rensselaer has lost by an average of just 4.5 points over the last four games against several playoff contenders. Sam Krumbhaar leads the team in scoring at 11.1 points per game, and Elizabeth Eckhardt averages 10.2 points per game thanks to 25 3-pointers. Shaina Iton leads the conference in both rebounds (10.9 rpg) and blocked shots (2.4 bpg) while Lauren Young is the top distributor in the conference with a league-best 4.2 assists per game.

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Players Mentioned

#32 Kathleen Coloney: F; 6' 0"; Senior

#21 Stephanie Grobe: G; 5' 10"; Senior

#22 Alyssia Marsal: F; 5' 10"; Senior

#10 Madison Shea: G; 5' 6"; Junior

#24 Devin Sorell: G; 5' 3"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#32 Kathleen Coloney
: 6' 0"; Senior
: F

#21 Stephanie Grobe
: 5' 10"; Senior
: G

#22 Alyssia Marsal
: 5' 10"; Senior
: F

#10 Madison Shea
: 5' 6"; Junior
: G

#24 Devin Sorell
: 5' 3"; Junior
: G