TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Rose-Hulman women's basketball team picked up their first win of the season against Bluffton on Saturday in HCAC action with a final score of 58-56. This improves the team to 1-7 overall and 1-1 in the HCAC.

The Fightin' Engineers were led by Katelyn Fennell with a team-high 17 points on 6-8 shooting from the field and a perfect 2-2 from beyond the arc. Fennell was also the team's leading rebounder with seven in the contest. 

Julia Meyer also had an impressive performance with 12 points and four rebounds in the big win. CK Gallegos Rodriguez was the standout defensively with a team-high three blocks. 

Rose-Hulman got the crowd hyped from the start, beginning the game on an 8-0 run. A made free throw by Kaia Peterson gave the Fightin' Engineers a nine-point lead at the end of the first quarter with the score at 15-6. 

The team continued to push the pace, outscoring the Beavers 20-5 in the second quarter to take a commanding 24-point lead with the score at 35-11 at the halftime break. Rose-Hulman maintained their lead in the third quarter, but Bluffton was not done yet. 

The Beavers erased the deficit on a 22-1 run to start the fourth quarter and tie the game at 51-51. A made jump shot by Bluffton gave the team their first lead of the game at 53-52 with 1:08 left in the fourth quarter. 

In the final minute, Peterson fought to secure an offensive rebound, scoring the put-back layup to tie the score at 54-54 and drawing a foul to head to the free-throw line with a chance to take the lead. Peterson drained the free throw to put Rose-Hulman back in front 55-54 with 41 seconds left in the game.

Clutch free-throw shooting and strong defensive play down the stretch by the Fightin' Engineers was enough to hold off the Bluffton comeback and secure the conference victory. 

Rose-Hulman will return to Hulbert Arena to host Greenville on Wednesday, December 10, at 7 PM.