TROY, N.Y.—William Smith College sophomore Gabrielle Eure scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed a game and career-high 18 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season in a 49-40 loss at Rensselaer tonight.
 
Eure was 6-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-10 at the free throw line. Sophomore Melanie Patterson added 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Eure and Patterson aside, the Herons struggled to find their shooters' touch. The rest of the team was a combined 2-of-38 from the field. William Smith shot 21 percent for the night.
 
Through the first 28 minutes of the game, neither team led by more than more than four points. The Herons were able to make it a game, despite their shooting struggles, by dominating the glass. William Smith finished the game with a 52-39 rebounding advantage. Eure grabbed 10 of the Herons' 25 offensive rebounds. RPI managed just nine offensive boards.
 
William Smith grabbed the biggest lead of the first half when senior Chloe Hayter scored five straight points, connecting from behind the 3-point arc followed by a pair of free throws for a 17-14 lead, 5:20 before the half.
 
The Engineers' Amanda Lynch followed with 4 straight points to put her squad back in front, but Eure countered with a traditional 3-point play to make it 20-18 Herons with 26 seconds left. Ashley Clough made the final basket of the half to send the teams into the locker room tied at 20.
 
Eure, who also had a game-high five steals, gave the Herons their final lead of the night, converting a layup at 14:10 of the second half to make it a 27-26 game.
 
RPI reclaimed the lead, this time for good, on a 3-pointer by Ellen Boucher which kicked off a 9-2 run for the Engineers. Following a Patterson layup, Lynch six consecutive points to stretch the home team's lead to 35-29. William Smith trailed by at least two possessions for the remainder of the contest.
 
Lynch led RPI (10-7, 6-2) with 19 points while Clough added 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Shaina Iton tallied four of the Engineers' nine blocked shots on the night.
 
The Herons (3-11, 2-4) will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 24, when they visit Skidmore (10-5, 6-0). Tipoff is at 2 p.m.