PITTSBURGH – Blair Landolfi hit a running 8 footer off the left baseline with 2.1 seconds to play and that carried the University of Rochester to a 63-62 victory over Carnegie Mellon University at Skibo Gymnasium on Friday evening.
The Tartans rushed the ball upcourt but couldn't get a shot off before the final horn expired.
With the win, Rochester improved to 14-9 overall and stands at 6-6 in the University Athletic Association. Carnegie Mellon is 11-12 overall, 2-10 in the UAA. Four weeks earlier, CMU defeated Rochester, 68-57, at the Louis Alexander Palestra. This marks the second straight year that the teams swapped victories on opposing courts. It's also the fifth straight game when the visiting team was victorious.
Sarah Kaminsky led Rochester with 13 points, including three 3-point goals. Kayla Kibling, who knocked down two 3-pointers, finished with 10 points. Lauren Deming also scored 10 points for the Yellowjackets.
Rochester hit 39.3% from the floor (24-61) and made eight of 20 shots outside the arc (40%).
Liza Otto led CMU with 20 points. Lisa Murphy scored 16 points and grabbed 20 rebounds. Chandler Caulfield, who finally got her 3-point shot to drop in the second half, scored 13 points.
Rochester led by two points at halftime (31-29). The Yellowjackets stretched the lead to 10, 41-31, five minutes into the second half after a fast break layup from Kaminsky and a 3-pointer from right wing by Kibling.
A 3-pointer from Kaminsky from the same general locale three minutes later kept the lead at eight, 46-38. That's when Chandler began to heat up. She sank three straight 3-pointers, all from the left side of the arc. Her second one got the Tartans within 49-44, but 80 seconds later, Kaminsky answered with a trey from the right corner.
It was 52-44 with 7:21 left and CMU made its first big move. Chandler sank her third longball, Otto banked in a six-footer in the lane, and Mackenzie Boyd sank both ends of a one-and-one. The Tartans were within one, 52-51, with 4:54 on the clock.
Kaminsky and Deming made layup around an Otto layup. Rochester led by three, 56-53, but the lead disappeared in the next 35 seconds. Murphy got a layup to drop and added a free throw to complete the three-point play which tied the game at 56-56. Otto knocked down two free throws after a foul by Ally Zywicki and the Tartans had a 58-56 lead.
Rochester found an answer. Deming threw up a running hook from the right baseline to tie it and on the next trip down, Kibling drained a 3-pointer from left wing. The Yellowjackets went back in front, 61-58, with 1:10 to go.
With 54.4 seconds left, Otto made two free throws to get CMU within one, 61-60. On Rochester's run down the floor, Kibling missed a three-pointer and Al Leslie couldn't get the followup to drop.
Otto missed a jumper with 17 seconds left, but Boyd scrapped for the rebound. With 11 seconds left, Caulfield hit a jumper to put the Tartans in front.
Rochester rushed the ball down the court on the right side. It was swung to the left and the ball eventually hit Landolfi just inside the 3-point line on the left baseline. She dribbled to just outside the lane and put up the gamewinner.