Potsdam, NY – Despite shooting a season-best 47.2 percent from the floor, the Clarkson University Women’s Basketball team could not overcome a significant rebounding deficiency as the Golden Knights fell to RIT 66-59 on Sunday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights dropped to 2-6 overall on the season and return to action on Wednesday against 23rd-ranked University of Rochester. The Tigers won their third straight game to improve to 6-3. 

Neither team was particularly prodigious offensively in the first few minutes, with Clarkson unable to score until 5:37 had expired. Both squads found their scoring groove shortly thereafter, however, as the Knights scored 28 points and RIT produced 26 in the final 14 minutes of the half. The Tigers led by as many as 10 points thanks to back-to-back 3-point field goals in the middle of the half. Four 3-pointers by Clarkson, two from Katie Goldberg (Stowe, VT) and two from Monica Thomas (Sandwich, MA), in the final six minutes pulled the Knights back to within a single point at the end of the half.

Michelle Reddinger (Baldwinsville, NY) shot 4-for-6 from the field in the first half, scoring a team-high 9 points to go along with 4 blocks and 3 rebounds. Joanna Dobeck scored 8 points to lead RIT, as well as 7 rebounds, all on the offensive end. The Tigers owned a significant advantage on the boards, out rebounding Clarkson 21-12, including 13 offensive rebounds.

In the second half, RIT took a pair of six-point leads early, but Clarkson used an 11-0 run over the course of three minutes to take a 49-44 advantage midway through the half. However, the Knights lead was short-lived as the Tigers ran off a 14-1 streak from the 9:27 mark to 3:40, claiming an eight-point advantage that would hold up for the remainder of the contest.

Reddinger finished with 14 points before fouling out late in the contest, and Alicia Chace (Cortland, NY) and Sierra Noles (Averill Park, NY) each tallied 10 points for Clarkson. Joanna Dobeck finished with game-highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds to go along with 3 steals. Danielle Furman added 15 points, shooting a flawless 8-for-8 from the free throw line, and Elizabeth Donk scored 10. The Tigers impressive shooting from the free throw line (20-for-22) proved to be the difference in the game as Clarkson struggled on its foul shot attempts (2-for-6).