GREENCASTLE, Ind. -- The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology women's basketball team opened the 2016-2017 season with a victory Friday night over the Texas-Dallas Comets 55-53 in the DePauw Tipoff Tournament.  

The contest was tight the entire night as both teams struggled offensively.

Texas-Dallas jumped out to a 15-7 lead in the first quarter but the Fightin' Engineers closed the gap and trailed by just one after the first quarter concluded 15-14.  The second quarter was equally as tight and the teams were tied at 26 at halftime.  Rose-Hulman shot just 31.3% from the field in the first half.

The Fightin' Engineers used strong defense in the third quarter and held the Comets to just nine points.  Entering the fourth period, RHIT led 40-35.  The final period of play was neck and neck until the final buzzer sounded.  

With just 13 seconds left, Rose-Hulman led 55-50 but a three-pointer by Texas-Dallas cut the lead down to just two.  After two misses on the free-throw line by Rose-Hulman, the Comets' half-court shot at the buzzer fell short, granting the Fightin' Engineers their first win of the seaosn. 

Sophomore Ally Bromenschenkel led the way for Rose-Hulman.  She scored 17 points and added eight rebounds.  She was 5-9 form the field and 7-9 from the charity stripe.  Senior Josie Schmidt scored seven points and hauled down nine rebounds in the game.  She also had two blocks.  

The Fightin' Engineers shot just 34.7% (17-49) from the field during the game but held Texas-Dallas to just 31.4% (16-51) shooting on the night.  

The win improves Rose-Hulman's record to 1-0.  The Fightin' Engineers will face host DePauw at 5 p.m. in the championship game of the Tip-off Tournament.  Rose-Hulman will seek its first ever victory over DePauw on Saturday.