Troy, N.Y. - A strong third quarter wasn't enough to erase a 19-point halftime deficit as the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team dropped a Liberty League contest to RPI on Friday evening, 68-49.

Clarkson moves to 4-3 overall, 0-1 in league play and will turn around to face Union on Saturday, November 6th, at 2 p.m. in Schenectady. RPI improves to 6-2 overall, 1-0 in the Liberty League.   

Addie Kea opened proceedings with a catch and shoot wing three on the first Clarkson possession but both teams would have a relatively cold start to the contest shooting a combined 2-10 over the first three minutes. A layup from Fallon Griffin at the 6:49 mark gave the Golden Knights a 5-2 lead, the only scoring overall until a turnaround in the paint by Sienna Smith made it 5-4 with 3:29 remaining. RPI would then dump in two more straight layups in quick succession, forcing Clarkson to take a timeout down 8-5 with just over two and a half minutes left. On the first Engineer possession out of the timeout Smith would connect on a corner three, pushing the lead to 11-5. Two more lay-ups following turnovers along with four free throws from Brooke Boyle meant RPI would score the last 17 points of the first quarter, up 19-5 after 10 minutes played. 

Elizabeth Aiossa would break the scoring drought less than a minute into the second following a nice feed from Alexis Kress. RPI would respond quickly with a mid-range jumper and three on the next two trips down the floor as the lead would grow to 24-7. A two minute scoring drought would be erased by a 6-0 streak by the hosts, causing the advantage to grow to 30-7 before Emma Chambers finished at the rim with a lay-in to bring it back to 30-9 with 5:17 remaining. The Knights were able to string together five straight points through the next 90 seconds cutting the deficit to 18, the closest that Clarkson would get as both teams scored four points combined over the final two minutes to give RPI a 34-15 lead headed into the break. Clarkson shot just 21% (6-28) from the field through the first half with 13 turnovers while the Engineers fared a bit better, shooting 34% (13-38), turning the ball over just six times. 

After the first bucket of the half from RPI, Kea and Kress combined to rattle off five straight for the Knights, looking to claw back into the game as the lead was down to 16 just over two minutes into the third. A Kress three-pointer answered another lay-up from the Engineers, getting the Knights back within 15 as both teams began to score with more consistency. RPI would soon extend the lead to 47-25 going on a 7-0 run over the next three minutes, a streak that would be ended by Kea with another wing three as 2:30 remained in the third. Out of a Golden Knight timeout, Griffin would find the bottom of the net on a corner three of her own keeping the Knights just within reach, down 16. RPI would continue to do just enough to stay out of reach as Smith would knock down two free throws with 1:42 left but a 8-0 burst from Clarkson in just over a minute got the Knights back within 10 following threes from Kea and Fallon and a Maddy Polky layup. Sophie Costello would register the last bucket of the quarter with a layup for the Engineers, who would lead 51-39 headed into the fourth. 

Kress would hit her second three of the contest, two minutes into the fourth quarter, bringing the Knights back to within 10 with plenty of time left in the game to mount a comeback. A 10-3 run  by RPI up to the 5:30 mark would mean that 10 would be the closest Clarkson would get over the remainder of the contest as RPI would score the final six points of the game, leading to the 68-49 final. 

Overall, Clarkson would finish shooting 56% (9-16) and 50% (4-8) from the field in the third and fourth, improving on the first half performance. RPI would lead in points in the paint (32-16), bench points (24-12) and rebounding (42-34). 

Kress led the Knights with a career-high 14 points on 3-6 shooting from behind the arc while Kea dropped in 11 with seven assists. Griffin grabbed seven boards and four steals to go along with eight points. Smith led all scorers with 21 points for RPI while dishing out four assists. Sophie Costello and Boyle both notched double-digit scoring outings with 14 and 11, respectively.