TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Freshman Josie Schmidt netted a career-high 19 points and senior Kelsey Ploof added 10 points as the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology women's basketball team dominated the paint to top visiting Illinois Institute of Technology, 73-40, in nonleague action Monday.
The 6-foot-3 Schmidt (Eighty Four, Pa./Ringgold) scored 17 of her 19 points in the first half, shooting 9-for-16 from the field to go along with four rebounds and four blocks. Ploof (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) added seven boards, three assists and two steals to the Engineers' effort, which gave RHIT (3-6) its third victory of the season.
The Engineers outscored the Scarlet Hawks (1-9) in the paint by a 46-18 margin.
Abbie Marshall (St. Louis, Mo./Nerinx Hall) kickstarted the Engineers' offense with a layup via a Sheree Williams (Bluffton, S.C./Bluffton) at the 19:46 mark and RHIT never trailed en route to a 43-19 halftime score.
Fourteen players reached the floor for the Engineers, whose bench outscored Illinois Tech 31-0.
Just shy of double figures for Rose-Hulman were Lauren Meadows (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf) with nine points and Williams and Jamie Loving (Normal, Ill./Normal West) with seven apiece.
The Engineers finished the game shooting 48.2 percent (27-for-56) from the field, including a blistering 60 percent (18-for-30) effort in the first half.
Rose-Hulman also won the rebound battle, 46-21, as every player that reached the court tallied at least one board. The Engineers finished the contest with 20 assists, just one shy of their season-best. Loving led RHIT with four assists, while Ploof, Williams and Andi Evers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) each had three.
Lauren Capuano led the Scarlet Hawks with a game-high 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, as she added nine rebounds and seven steals. Neilina Vierra and Adrianna Maron chipped in five steals each.
Rose-Hulman hits the road for its next contest, when the Engineers travel to Robert Morris-Springfield (Ill.) for a nonleague matchup Friday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Central Time.
