TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Fightin' Engineers fought hard against the Berea Mountaineers, where they came up just short by a score of 80-75.
 
The Mountaineers jumped out to an early 9-2 lead before Emma Schipp knocked down a three-pointer. Katelyn Fennell would later swish her first three pointer of the game, which cut the lead to one.
 
With 13 seconds left in the quarter, Fennell scored on a coast-to-coast layup to give RHIT a one-point lead. The Mountaineers answered with a three-pointer at the buzzer to conclude the quarter up 18-16.
 
CK Gallegos Rodriguez opened the second with a bucket in the paint to tie the game. Following a block by María Godoy Rodriguez, Julia Meyer put Rose-Hulman back in the lead on a contested layup.
 
The Fightin' Engineers were able to extend their lead to six, highlighted by a pair of layups from Fennell and Sophia Reese. Following a three-pointer by Berea, Gallegos Rodriguez and Godoy Rodriguez each knocked down mid-range jumpers on consecutive possessions to keep RHIT in the lead.
 
Fennell closed out the quarter by scoring on a layup, and she followed that up with a three-pointer to give Rose-Hulman a 42-32 halftime lead.
 
Fennell continued to stay hot atop the third quarter as she knocked down another three-pointer before adding a midrange jump shot.
 
Berea was able to cut into the lead, as they scored on a tough and-one basket, before swishing a three-pointer two minutes later. Emma Schipp was able to put an end to their run, as she scored on a mid-range basket to give RHIT a 51-44 lead.
 
The Mountaineers thrived during the final five minutes of the third quarter, outscoring Rose-Hulman 14-2. The team was able to take advantage of multiple second-chance points, and they concluded the quarter with three straight layups to jump in the lead by a score of 58-53.
 
The Fightin' Engineers opened the fourth by scoring on four straight possessions. Fennell once again drilled a three-pointer to lead off the fourth quarter. Schipp would then add a two-point jumpshot, before a layup from Meyer tied the game at 60 apiece. Following a Berea basket, Reese was able to draw a foul, where she converted both her free throws to keep the game tied.
 
Berea continued to take advantage of their height, as they scored three shots in the paint, which all came off offensive rebounds.
 
Reese would later record a steal, and she assisted on Kaia Peterson's jump shot, which cut the lead to five. The Mountaineers answered with an and-one layup to extend their lead to 72-64.
 
Fennell recorded a steal on the following possession, which she took down court to score on a fast break layup. She followed that up by cashing her fifth three pointer of the game as Rose-Hulman cut the deficit to three.
 
Rose-Hulman's defense continued to thrive as Peterson stole the ball and assisted on a fastbreak layup by Reese to make it a one-point game by a score of 74-73.
 
Both teams would trade layups, and Rose-Hulman was forced to foul with 16 seconds remaining. Berea concluded the game by converting 5-6 of their shots at the charity stripe, securing the win by a score of 80-75.
 
Katelyn Fennell dropped a career-high 30 points on incredibly efficient shooting splits. She shot 11-15 from the floor, a perfect 5-5 from three-point range, and 3-4 at the free throw line. Fennell also added five rebounds and recorded two steals.
 
Sophia Reese added 12 points, where she shot 4-10 from the floor and 4-4 at the free throw line. Reese nearly posted a double-double as she dished out a team-high nine assists without committing a single turnover.
 
CK Gallegos Rodriguez scored eight points on 3-4 shooting with four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal.
 
Kaia Peterson also scored eight points, while adding three assists and one steal.
 
Emma Schipp recorded totals of seven points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
 
Rose-Hulman will continue their homestand against Mt. St. Joseph on Wednesday, January 7 at 7 PM.