Smith College Athletics

NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Smith 74, RPI 65
Records: Pioneers 9-0, Engineers 7-2

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. - A big fourth quarter drove the Smith College basketball team to a 74-65 win against RPI on Wednesday evening at Ainsworth Gymnasium. The Pioneers hand the Engineers' their first loss in seven games. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Junior Elle Jo Whalen (Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville High School) notched a career-high 20 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds
• Sophomore Katelyn Pickunka (Westhampton, Mass./Hampshire) shot 10-of-12 from the field to finish with 20 points and seven boards
• First-year Ashlyn Bohn (Tucson, Ariz./Tucson High Magnet School) scord a career-high 13 points, including three from behind-the-arc

HOW IT HAPPENED
First-year Ally Yamada (Seal Beach, Calif./Fairmont Prep Academy) got things going for Smith with a three-pointer just six seconds into the game and back-to-back buckets from Pickunka gave the Pioneers a 9-2 lead at 7:03 in the first. The Engineers slowly chipped away at the deficit, coming within one point, 17-16, on a basket from Ines Ortea. After a jumper from first-year Morgan Morrison (Detroit, Mich./Detroit Country Day), RPI's Ortea completed a three-point play to close out the quarter, making the score 21-19 in favor of the home squad.

Smith started the second on a 7-0 run and would outscore RPI 20-16 to take a 41-35 lead at halftime.

In the third, it was all RPI as the Engineers grabbed their first lead of the game on a jumper from Sam Krumbhaar with 2:09 left in the period. Their lead would grow to 55-52 heading into the fourth. 

Fourth quarter shooting was the difference for the Pioneers, as they opened the frame making six-of-seven from the field while holdig RPI to just two buckets in 3:27 to lead 70-63. The Eingeers would come as close as five, 70-65, but the Smith defense would shut them out down the final 4:14 for the 74-65 final. 

GAME NOTES

• Smith picks up their first win against RPI, improve to 1-2 in the all-time series
• At 9-0, the Pioneers are off to their best start in program history
• The Pioneers shot 50.0% (32-of-64) from the floor and held a 40-33 edge in rebounds.
• This was Pickunka's fifth 20-point game this season

UP NEXT
The Pioneers return to action on December 29 when they host Anna Maria at 2:00 p.m. in the opening game of the Smith Holiday Tournament. The other game features Colby vs Franklin & Marshall at 4:00 p.m.

About Smith Athletics: Smith College is a NCAA Division III member of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference that sponsors 11 intercollegiate sports. For more information log on to smithpioneers.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.