#17 UR Wraps Up Non-Conference Play With Win Over RIT

More news about: Rochester

University of Rochester women's basketball turned in their largest margin of victory since Nov. 26, 1999, defeating the RIT Tigers, 88-36, on Tuesday evening inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.
 
UR's 52-point win was their largest win since the 'Jackets topped Hilbert, 80-18, in their opening game of the 1999 Chuck Resler Tournament.
 
Katie Titus got Rochester going with a three-pointer off the opening tip, as the Penfield, NY native scored UR's first 13 points of the evening, single-handedly outscoring RIT, 13-4, over the first 3:49 of the first quarter.
 
Alexis Sestric kept things rolling for the Yellowjackets, getting on the scoreboard with her driving layup off Kelsey Stites' assist with 5:16 to play in the opening period to extend UR's lead to 15-4.
 
Sestric would add another point via a free throw down the stretch, before Paige Gaynier wrapped up the first with an and-one, giving the Yellowjackets a 19-6 lead after one period of play.
 
Though the 'Jackets shot just 33.3 percent in the opening period, UR held RIT to just 17.6 percent (3-for-17) shooting in the first quarter, and 0-for-6 from three.
 
Rochester kept things rolling into the second quarter, scoring the first six points of the period on Sestric's pull-up jumper, and a pair of layups by Callie McCulley.
 
Ansley Orrell got the Tigers on the scoreboard with her triple with 8:28 to play in the second, adding another three with 6:01 left to pull RIT within 14, 30-16, following back-to-back Tiger three-pointers.
 
But that'd be as close as the Tigers would get the rest of the way, with the Yellowjackets outscoring RIT, 15-2 over the final 5:11 of the first half to take a 45-18 lead at the break.
 
Six different scorers tallied points over UR's run, with Trinity Johnson notching a team-high four points over the final 5:11 of the second quarter.
 
McCulley got the Yellowjackets going with a pair of free throws in the third, as UR stretched their lead out to 32 with an early 5-0 run.
 
Kaitlyn Bockelman answered a Titus' three-pointer with a jumper of her own, but the points just kept coming for UR, as they outscored RIT, 23-6, in the third.
 
Two free throws from Maura Leverone jump-started a 10-0 Rochester run midway through the third, capped off by back-to-back threes from Sestric and Titus, while Raquel Williams' layup at the buzzer made it a 68-24 'Jacket lead heading to the fourth.
 
With the game in hand, Rochester's reserves kept the shots falling, with Carina Ciampi scoring UR's first five points of the final period.
 
Two free throws from Ciampi got the scoring started in the fourth before a triple made it 70-27 with 7:16 remaining. Claire Groenewoud then added a driving layup and two free throws, before another Ciampi three made it a 46-point UR lead.
 
With just under three minutes to play, Bridget Miller got on the scoreboard, capping off a performance that saw every 'Jacket score who saw the court.
 
Sonya Shivok would pull the Tigers with 46, 82-36, with 2:23 to play, before Williams tallied the final six points of the night to finish off the 88-36 victory.
 
Rochester wraps up non-conference play at 10-1 with the win, while RIT drops to 4-5 on the year with the loss.
 
Titus led all scorers with 22 points, adding six rebounds and three assists, while McCulley, Sestric and Williams each notched 10 points apiece.
 
Nora Fairbanks-Lee led UR on the glass with eight rebounds, while Stites recorded a team-high five assists and three blocks.
 
As a team, Rochester shot 42.5 percent from the field and held RIT to just 24.2 percent shooting, and 15.4 percent from three. UR also outscored the Tigers, 40-16 in the paint, 11-2 off turnovers and 40-21 off the bench.
 
The Yellowjackets also outrebounded RIT, 56-35, including 15-6 on the offensive glass.
 
Rochester next opens University Athletic Association play on Saturday, Jan. 7 in Atlanta, Ga. against Emory University at 2:00 p.m.