Visiting SUNY Geneseo pulled out a gritty 56-48 victory over the 18th ranked University of Rochester women's basketball team to advance to the finals of the 23rd annual Wendy's College Classic on Friday evening at the Louis Alexander Palestra.
The Knights (4-1), seeded second in the tournament, never trailed on the night and used some suffocating defense to hold the Yellowjackets (5-1) to just 27% shooting on the night and got a career high 21 points from Katie Vienneau to lift them to the victory.
Rochester was paced by senior Kayla Kibling who hit four three's for 12 points while classmate Tylar Guerrieri added 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
In the first quarter Geneseo jumped out to an 11-2 lead, getting the Yellowjackets into early foul trouble, drawing four within the first four minutes. The Yellowjackets would then battle back into it with an 8-2 run of their own, getting to within three at 13-10, but the Knights would score the final four points of the quarter to grab a 17-10 lead.
To start the second, Geneseo went cold, missing its first four shots while also committing three turnovers in being held scoreless for the first 4:45 of the period. Rochester was sparked by two Kibling 3-pointers and strong bench play from Guerrieri to claw back into the contest.
At the half, Rochester trailed by just two 26-24. Both teams struggled in the opening 20 minutes, shooting under 35% and committing 12 turnovers. The foul trouble was also a factor with four of UR's starters having at least two fouls.
The third quarter saw the margin trimmed to just one on multiple occasions, mainly from a strong effort by the Yellowjackets from beyond the arc. Rochester hit four 3-pointers, Kibling with two, Lauer and Guerrieri, and was fouled on another with Lauer making three free throws.
Vienneau took over for Geneseo in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 of her teams 16 points. That, coupled with a slow start to the period by Rochester, scoreless for the first 4:18 allowed the Knights to pull away, eventually sealing the six point victory. The Yellowjackets as a team shot only 25% (3-12) in the quarter.
On the night, both teams committed 16 turnovers while UR stayed in it with its eight trey's on the night compared to just two from the Knights. On the glass, Geneseo held a 43-39 advantage.
Rochester, seeded third in this, the final Wendy's Classic, will have to settle to play in the 3rd place game against St. John Fisher at 1 pm on Saturday. Geneseo, with the win, moves on to play in the championship game against the #1 seed and two-time defending champion Roberts Wesleyan on Saturday at 5:30 pm.