ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The University of Rochester roared back from a fourth quarter 11-point deficit to defeat Washington University, 56-51, in a matchup of Top 25 basketball teams at the Louis Alexander Palestra on Friday night.
Rochester improved to 16-3 overall, 6-2 in the University Athletic Association. Washington is 15-4 overall, 6-2 in the UAA. Rochester, Washington, and NYU (15-2, 6-2) are all tied for first place in the UAA race after NYU lost at Carnegie Mellon, 70-57, on Friday night.
Al Leslie led Rochester with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Kayla Kibling was the only other Yellowjacket in double figures. She scored 10. Amanda Martinez had a team-high 12 points and eight steals for the Bears.
Washington stretched a three-point lead at halftime (28-25) to 34-25 after a Martinez jumper midway through the period. Rochester cut it down to five again, but Washington closed the third quarter on a 10-2 burst to carry a 44-33 lead into the last 10 minutes.
Rochester went on an extended 14-2 run over five minutes to push ahead, 47-46, on Leslie's layup with 4:26 left. Lilly Sarros banked in a layup to restore Washington's lead and then Jordan Thompson got a breakaway layup, scooping up a long rebound and running in alone.
The Yellowjackets used a 9-1 run over the last two minutes to push ahead and stay there. Sarah Kaminsky hit a three-pointer and to tie it at 50-50. Kelsey Hurley made two free throws to put Rochester up, 52-50, with 50 seconds left. Washington couldn't inbound the ball coming out of a timeout, but UR missed two free throws after a Bear foul
Zoe Vernon made one of two free throws for Washington (52-51) with 33 seconds left. Leslie made two free throws for Rochester with 0:20 remaining and after Thompson missed a three-pointer, Lauren Deming got the rebound and was fouled. She made two more with just over a second to play. That clinched the win.
It was mostly all Bears in the first half. Washington used a high-pressure defense to score 10 points in 94 seconds for a 10-2 lead. The lead peaked at 10, 19-9, after a Vernon three-pointer late in the first quarter. It was 21-13 after one.
Rochester held Washington scoreless for the first five minutes of the second quarter and pulled within 21-18 on Kibling's three pointer from right win. With three players contributing, Washington had just enough offense to take a 28-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Overall, Rochester had a season's high 26 turnovers. Washington had 14 steals, eight by Martinez. The Bears scored 23 points off Rochester giveaways.
The Yellowjackets dominated on the backboards, holding an overall 54-27 edge on the glass, 37-9 at Washington's end of the floor. Rochester grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and turned it into 19 points. Brynn Lauer had nine rebounds. Hurley and Tylar Guerrieri had six apiece.