Troy, NY - A near 10-minute scoreless stretch from the end of the first quarter to late in the second quarter was too much for the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team to overcome as the Golden Knights dropped a 56-41 decision against Rensselaer on Friday night.

The Golden Knights fell to 4-3 on the season and 0-1 after the conference opener, while the Engineers saw their record improve to 4-3 overall and 1-0 in league play. Clarkson will take on Skidmore College on Saturday afternoon.

Following a decent offensive performance on Tuesday against SUNY Potsdam, the Golden Knights' offense sputtered in the opening minutes against Rensselaer. Clarkson quickly found itself down 8-2 in the first four minutes, but the Knights rallied back to within three and four points, respectively, later on in the quarter thanks to 3-pointers from Madison Shea and Hannah Earl. The Engineers scored the final five points of the quarter, pushing their lead to nine when Elizabeth Eckhardt made a 3-pointer with 1:02 to go. The margin would grow to 17 points after Sam Krumbhaar hit a jumper midway through the second quarter as the Knights went 9 minutes, 23 seconds without a point following Earl's 3-pointer in the first period. Devin Sorell finally hit a jumper with 3:46 to go in the second to end the scoreless streak and the Knights did eventually pull to within 10 points late in the quarter. Two free throws and a Shaina Iton jumper late in the period pushed the Engineers' advantage back up to 14 at the half.

That nine-minute drought proved to be the downfall for Clarkson in the game. In the third quarter, the margin varied between 12 points and 17 points until Tricia Loso hit a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left to get Clarkson back within 10 (38-28). However, the Engineers edged back out to 13 with a 3-pointer late in the period. Again in the fourth, the lead wavered between 12 points and 19 points before finally settling at 15 for the final margin. During the first and second quarter drought, Clarkson was outscored 13-0, almost the identical figure for the final margin.

Devin Sorell finished with 11 points to lead the Knights, while Madison Shea contributed nine points and six rebounds. For Rensselaer, Sam Krumbhaar had 15 points on 7-for-13 shooting to go along with five steals as a reserve off the bench. LaKissa Martin contributed 11 points and six boards and Elizabeth Eckhardt added in nine points and eight rebounds.