Engineers strong in win over St. Mary’s

The most surprising element of the Lady Engineers’ 77-53 win on Monday over Saint Mary of the Woods was not the win itself. This is, after all, the fourth consecutive time the Lady Engineers have won the Clabber Girl Trophy, played annually against the Pomeroys. The size of the visitors’ crowd was not unexpected either - it seems reasonable that Saint Mary’s fans would be more than happy to make the short drive over to Hulbert Arena. By far, the most surprising element of the game was the noise from the visitors’ crowd, many of whom were equipped with inflatable “thundersticks.” The Rose supporters spread out over the other three quarters of the seating, by contrast, were far less vocal.

Although Rose took command relatively early - the score was 21-8 Rose midway through the first half - the Saint Mary’s crowd began to make itself known, making itself a factor in a run by the Pomeroys that closed the half 39-31. The thunderous cheering certainly had some effect on the Engineers, who committed five turnovers in the last three minutes of the half.

After the half, though, Rose-Hulman reasserted its control, despite the continuing din. The Engineers’ lead increased steadily from 7 just after the half to a high of 28 with 9:32 remaining. It was in this stretch that the weaknesses of the Pomeroy’s extremely short bench began to show itself in the number of missed shots and turnovers; they scored only four points in the first ten minutes of the second half. With only one player in reserve, all of the Saint Mary’s players were forced to play almost the entire game - Katie Tharp, with 23 minutes played, had two fewer minutes than the Pomeroy with the least playtime.

Renewing their effort in the final minutes, the Pomeroys did their best to narrow the wide point margin despite their fatigue. They were foiled by a decent effort from the Engineers’ bench that kept the lead at a comfortable 20-plus points despite a late flurry of shots from the Pomeroys that accumulated more than a third of their total final score.

Rose-Hulman had three players with double-digit point totals - Donna Marsh, Jill Floyd, and Liz Ridgway combined for 38 points. This offensive attack, combined with a strong defensive effort netting 55 rebounds, gave the Engineers a win that improves their record to 6-8. Their next home game is on Wednesday the 23 against HCAC opponent Anderson University.