HENRIETTA, N.Y. – Al Leslie and Ally Zywicki combined for 47 points to power the University of Rochester to an 88-79 victory over St John Fisher in the semifinals of the Wendy's College Classic at RIT on Thursday night.
Rochester (7-0) will play in Saturday's championship game at RIT at 5:30 pm against second-seeded Roberts Wesleyan, which rallied past third-seeded SUNY Geneseo, 67-64, in overtime. Rochester is the top seed. The Yellowjackets are ranked 22nd in the USA Today/WBCA Division III poll and are among others getting votes in the D3hoops.com poll.
Saturday will mark Rochester's 12th championship game appearance since the tournament expanded to eight schools in the 1995-96 season. Rochester has won 10 Wendy's Classic women's championships. The Yellowjackets finished fourth in the tournament last year.
While Leslie (28 points, 14 rebounds) and Zywicki (19 points, six assists) did the bulk of the scoring, this was a complete team effort. Lauren Deming scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. Eleven of the 12 Rochester players scored at least two points.
Portia Velasco scored 27 points to lead Fisher (4-2). She added five assists and two steals. Mary Kate Cusack had 19 points, and Bridget Carney had 18, hitting seven of nine from the floor.
A three-point goal from Velasco brought the Cardinals within three, 21-18, with just over eight minutes left in the first half. The Fisher offense went cold for two and a half minutes and Rochester ran off 16 straight points to assume command at 37-18 with 5:37 left. Zywicki hit a pair of 3-point shots and added a runner in the lane on the break. Leslie and Tylar Guerrieri converted traditional three-point plays. In the final 2:35, Leslie scored seven points to lead a 12-2 charge that gave Rochester a 51-30 lead at halftime.
Early in the second half, the Rochester offense lost its way with a series of turnovers and three missed shots. Fisher took advantage, riding six points from Velasco and four by Carney to move within 57-47 with more than 14 minutes remaining.
The Cardinals stayed within striking distance, getting the deficit down to eight points on nine straight possessions, the last time on a Carney layup with 3:59 left (77-69). Deming scored immediately for Rochester and Zywicki stole the ball to run in for a layup and an 81-69 lead. Leslie spun in the lane for a basket and the Yellowjackets had a 14-point edge, 83-69, with 2:02 left.
Velasco's coast-to-coast layup and subsequent free throw brought Fisher within 85-79 in the final minute before Kayla Kibling made two free throws for Rochester and Zywicki hit one of two from the line.
Rochester finished with a 56-31 advantage on the boards. Leslie led everyone with 14 rebounds and Guerrieri pulled down 12. Deming had eight boards and Emily Lewis grabbed six. Rochester scored 28 second-chance points on 18 offensive rebounds. Fisher's rebound leader was McKenzie Bezon with nine.