Rochester, NY – Despite a long-range comeback by the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team, the Golden Knights suffered their fifth straight conference defeat, falling 62-50 to RIT in Liberty League action on Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Knights, who dropped to 8-13 overall and 3-10 in the Liberty League, will close out the regular season at home next week when the team hosts St. Lawrence on Tuesday and concludes the campaign against Bard and Vassar over the weekend. RIT improved to 13-10 overall and 9-5 in the Liberty League.

Clarkson led in the early going 8-2 as RIT struggled on offense and went more than four minutes without a basket. The Knights did not relinquish the lead for much of the first half and led by five after a free throw from Ashley Loggins (Albany, NY) with six minutes to go. However, a Courtney Tennant 3-pointer at the 3:24 mark gave RIT its first lead, and a three-point play by Jess Kramer with 27 seconds remaining allowed the Tigers to head into the locker room with a five-point lead despite Clarkson holding an advantage for more than 15 minutes of the first half.

Both teams had their troubles from the field, but Clarkson's were exacerbated by a 2-for-8 performance from the free throw line, though the Knights forced RIT to commit 11 turnovers to make up for the deficiency.

Up by eight (35-27) early on in the second half, RIT scored seven straight points and enjoyed a 16-4 run over a stretch of less than six minutes to gain a 20-point advantage. However, the streakiness would continue, this time in the favor of Clarkson, as junior Cara Manfredi (Glastonbury, CT) broke out of her weekend slump with three straight 3-pointers to cut the margin to single digits with six minutes remaining in the contest. From that point, the Tigers were able to halt the Knights' run and reconfigure their offense. Clarkson would cut the deficit to as few as eight points with less than three minutes to go, but RIT hit its free throws when necessary and held on for the win.

Clarkson took care of the ball, committing only nine turnovers in the game and forcing 21 for RIT, the Tigers were able to convert on their shots, shooting 44 percent in the second half while Clarkson hit just 30 percent of its opportunities.

Ashley Loggins finished with 17 points and five rebounds and Cara Manfredi concluded the game with 12 points, four assists, and four steals. Stephanie Grobe (White River Junction, VT) tossed in eights point and also had six rebounds. For RIT, Ashlynn Palmitesso had a big second half to finish with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Courtney Tennant and Jess Kramer each had 13 points for the Tigers.