University of Rochester junior Alexandra Leslie led Rochester with 22 points and 11 rebounds, including scoring her 1,000th career point, but visiting Ithaca College topped the Yellowjackets 73-67 on Saturday afternoon at the Louis Alexander Palestra.
Leslie recorded her fourth double-double of the year and ended up scoring her 1,000th point near the end of the second quarter. She becomes the second fastest of the 13 Rochester players to reach the career mark, scoring 1,000 in her 62nd game. She trailed only UR's all-time leading scorer, Jody Lavin, who recorded the feat in just 45 games.
Ithaca (7-1) used a big fourth quarter, outscoring #9 Rochester (6-2) 29-16 to rally from a seven point deficit entering the quarter. The Bombers were led by Ali Ricchiuti who scored 19 points and had three steals while two other starters, Julie Yacovoni and Erin Ferguson added 15 points and 13 points respectively.
UR's Lauren Deming added 17 points and six rebounds. Lizzy Atkinson added six points, including a half court buzzer-beater to end the 3rd quarter and both Lauren Foley and Lena Ethington added five points off the bench for the 'Jackets.
After Atkinson's bomb to end the third quarter put Rochester up 51-44, momentum appeared to be on the Yellowjackets side. Rochester then started the 4th quarter with the ball and got a Leslie layup to go up by nine.
Ithaca then used a 14-4 run to grab the lead with just under four minutes on the clock. Some tough Bomber defense forced four Yellowjacket turnovers in the stretch and Ithaca got clutch 3-pointers from Ferguson and Allie Tunick to spark the run.
Rochester regained the lead right away on two Deming free throws, but the Bombers would rally again, scoring nine straight points, including a contested Ricchiuti 3-pointer with 1:53 left to go up by eight.
A Foley trey and Ethington old-fashion 3-point play pulled the 'Jackets within three with under a minute to play, but the Bombers hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the victory, their third straight.
Halfway through the second quarter, Rochester held the biggest lead of the game, sitting up 12 at 33-21 following a Brenna James layup in the lane. Ithaca proceeded to embark on a 11-0 rush to pull within one in the closing minutes of the half. At the break, UR held a one-point edge, leading 35-34.
Rochester ended up outrebounding the Bombers 41-34, but 22 turnovers soured the teams' performance, with giveaways leading to 22 Ithaca points. IC paced the two squads, shooting 46.2% (30-65) from the floor while UR shot at a 40% clip (24-60) in the contest.
The Yellowjackets are now off until December 29th when they travel to Ohio for the Ohio Wesleyan Bishop Classic. Rochester will face off against Kalamazoo College in the opening round of the four team tournament which also features host OWU and Goucher College.