Rochester, NY – On a night where it seemed nothing would fall, the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team suffered its most lopsided defeat of the season, dropping a 78-47 decision to first-place RIT on Friday evening.

The Golden Knights fell to 8-11 overall and 3-9 in conference games, while the Tigers improved to 16-3 and 10-2 in the Liberty League. Clarkson will look to get back on the winning track Saturday afternoon when it faces William Smith.

Clarkson trailed for all but the first 29 seconds of the game when RIT scored on its first possession thanks to a 3-pointer by Amanda Olsen. Despite the early deficit, it was not until the latter portion of the first quarter that things got out of hand for the Knights. Molly Stewart hit a 3-pointer with 4:04 remaining in the quarter to get the Knights within six, but Clarkson made just a pair of free throws for the rest of the period while the Tigers extended their advantage to as many as 18, with Sabrina Wolfe hitting back-to-back 3-pointers for RIT.

Halfway through the second quarter the Tiger edged out to a 20-point lead on a Cori Okada 3-pointer and extended to as many as 23 points near the end of the period before the margin finally settled at 22 at the break (45-23).

Tara Lynch scored 17 points in the first half on 8-for-12 shooting and the Tigers moved the ball around the perimeter well, receiving 13 assists on 17 made shots. Clarkson's dynamic backcourt of Devin Sorell and Madison Shea struggled, shooting a collective 2-for-17 from the field.

Clarkson briefly got back within 18 at the start of the third quarter, but the small run was merely a reprieve for the Knights. By the midway point, RIT pushed its advantage to 28 when Okada scored on a fastbreak layup. Near the end of the quarter, a Carly Assimon 3-pointer pulled the Knights back to a 21-point deficit, but the entirety of the fourth quarter was played without suspense as RIT simply pulled away.

Sorell finished with a team-high 16 points and she also added in seven boards and four assists. Madison Shea, Molly Stewart and Tricia Loso each contributed seven points for the Knights. For RIT, Lynch finished with 21 points and eight rebounds in just 24 minutes and Cori Okada added 17 points and five assists. Sabrina Wolfe chipped in 14 points and six rebounds on 6-for-8 shooting and Amanda Olsen produced 10 points and eight boards.