TROY, NY -- The RIT (3-8, 0-3 Liberty League) women's basketball team jumped out to a 15-0 lead, led by as many as 12 in the second half, but could not hold on losing, 74-70 at Rensselaer in a critical Liberty League game on Friday evening. #Kayla Wheeler (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa)# (18), #Leslie Havens (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton)# (19) and Courtney Tennant (Cortland, NY/Cortland)# (14) each scored in double figures for the Tigers.

The Tigers came out firing, jumping out to a 15-0 lead early in the first half. Wheeler scored eight of RIT's 15 points in that stretch, finishing with 14 first-half points on 7-of-8 shotting.

Bailei Tetrault finally got the Engineers on the board 5:24 into the first half. That sparked a Rensselaer run as the Engineers outscored the Tigers 15-3 over a 4:10 span, pulling to within three points on a Jen Rock layup.

Maddie Apperson took a feed from twin sister #Mallory Apperson (Bemus Point, NY/Maple Grove)# with 10:01 to play to stop the run, increasing the Tigers lead to five points at 20-15.

The Tigers were able to hold on the rest of the half, leading 40-38 at the break.

RIT continued to lead in the second half, increasing their slim halftime lead to eight points on a jumper by Havens with 16:06 to play in the second half, giving the Tigers a 50-42 lead. Havens scored 12 of her 19 points in the second half.

#Jess Kramer (Fayetteville, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt)#'s layup with 12:49 to play gave RIT a 58-46 lead, their largest lead since the beginning of the first half.

With RIT leading 60-50, Rensselaer went on a 12-2 run over a 4:30 span, tying the score at 62-62 on  a Courtney Reynolds three pointer with 6:44 to play. It was the closest the Engineers had been since the opening moments of the game.

Both teams exchanged buckets over the next few minutes, until Jen Rock's bucket with 2:52 to play in regulation gave the Engineers their first lead of the game.

Wheeler answered right back for the Tigers, tying the score at 70-70 with a layup with 2:31 to play. That would be the final bucket for the Tigers, who went scoreless over the final 2:31.

Two Sarah Wetmore free throws with 1:23 to play proved to be the winning buckets as RPI held on for the 74-70 win.

RIT shot 48 percent from the floor on 28-of-58 shooting. The Tigers were 2-of-8 from behind the arc and were 12-of-16 from the foul line. Havens led the Tigers with 19 points, three rebounds, six assists and four steals. Wheeler added 18 points and eight rebounds, while Tennant scored 14 points and had nine rebounds.

Sarah Wetmore led Rensselaer with 19 points.

RIT returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 12 with a 2 pm tip-off at Skidmore College.