ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The State University of New York at New Paltz women's basketball team (0-2) allowed the eighth-ranked University of Rochester (2-0) to build an early lead that proved insurmountable in the semifinal round of the Chuck Resler Tournament hosted by Rochester on Friday night, as the host Yellowjackets cruised to a 68-43 victory.

Rochester's 45.5 percent shooting (15-of-33) from the field in the first half ultimately proved to be the difference in this contest, as the Hawks shot just 27.3 percent (6-of-22) in the first 20 minutes of play. Rochester also hurt New Paltz from distance, shooting 35.3 percent (12-of-34) from long range compared to the Hawks' 0-of-11 outing from beyond the arc. New Paltz was also outrebounded by a 50-32 edge. Rochester had a hot touch from the free-throw line, shooting 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the charity stripe.

The Yellowjackets built a 6-2 lead in the first two minutes, but a made free throw by freshman point guard Shannan Walker (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) and a layup by senior forward Shanay Bradley (Bronx, N.Y./New Explorers) trimmed the deficit to one. Rochester countered with a 10-0 run that saw points from four different players, and it continued to pile on the offense until Madeline Korber pushed the advantage out to 18 at 27-9 with 7:45 remaining in the first half. Senior guard Caitlin Irwin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Kearney) hit three free-throw shots to pull the Hawks back within 15 points, but Rochester would finish the half on a 12-4 run to enter halftime with a 39-16 lead.

After the Yellowjackets drained the opening basket of the second half, Irwin and Bradley scored on back-to-back possessions to pull within 24. The Hawks, however, we unable to ignite any sort of rally, as they never came closer the rest of the game. Rochester swelled the advantage up to 34 at 14:24 of the second half and at 13:42 of the second half, which served as its largest lead of the night.

Bradley fell just short of a double-double, scoring a game-high 14 points off 7-of-13 shooting and pulling down a game-high nine boards. Bradley and junior guard Kahsyrah Bryant (North Babylon, N.Y./North Babylon) each had four steals, and five Hawks had one block each.

Rochester's only two double-figure scorers came off the bench, as Loren Wagner tied Bradley for the game-high with 14, while Jackie Walker chipped in 12. Korber tied Bradley for the game-high in rebounds with nine, and both Laney Ming and Ally Zywicki had four steals.

New Paltz squares off with Wittenberg University at 1 p.m. tomorrow afternoon in the Chuck Resler Tournament's third-place game.