Rochester, NY - Pulling to within three points in the final minute of the second half was as close as the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team could get after falling behind by double digits early in the contest as the Golden Knights dropped their fourth straight with a 42-38 loss to RIT on Sunday afternoon.
The Golden Knights moved to 0-4 on the season while the Tigers became the second straight team to open their season with a victory against the Knights.
The Knights held a 4-2 lead early on, but RIT went on a 8-0 run and controlled an advantage for the remainder of the first half as Clarkson struggled mightily from the floor. With 3:30 remaining in the first half, Clarkson still had not reached double figures in scoring, but trailed by only 11 as the Tigers couldn't find the bottom of the basket either. The Knights closed to within seven by the end of the half, but again fell behind by double digits in the second half and played catch up for the remainder of the game. Trailing by 10 points with five minutes to go, Clarkson ended the contest on a 7-1 run, but a desperation 3-pointer fell short in the waning seconds, ending any chance of a comeback by the Knights.
Freshman Michelle Reddinger (Baldwinsville, NY) enjoyed a second straight solid game with 12 points and nine rebounds off the bench, shooting 3-for-6 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the free throw line. The Clarkson starting lineup found the RIT defense daunting, shooting a combined 8-for-37 from the floor for 19 points. Sophomore Rachel Whitermore (Holliston, MA) came through for the Knights with nine points and six rebounds.
Ramata Diallo shot 5-for-7 from the field for the Tigers to score 12 points to go along with her 13 rebounds. Joanna Dobeck added in eight points and 12 rebounds for RIT.
Clarkson shot only 21.4 percent in the first half and saw its struggles continue in the final 20 minutes as well, shooting just 25.8 percent. The Tigers made eight of their 22 shots in the first half for a 36.4 percentage, but also dropped in the second half, falling to 25.9 percent (7-for-27).
