ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The University of Rochester shot 53% in the first quarter and went on to a 79-49 victory over Johnson & Wales University in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Playoffs at the Louis Alexander Palestra.

With the win, Rochester moves into the second round of the tournament against Stockton University of New Jersey. Stockton edged Clarkson, 60-59. The winner of the Rochester-Stockton game advances to the Sweet 16 on March 11.

Al Leslie scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Kayla Kibling scored 16 points on 6-6 field goal accuracy, including 4-4 outside the arc. Mary Kronenwetter had 11 points and two blocked shots.  Rochester, ranked #16 in the current D3hoops.com and WBCA polls, is 21-5.

Bobbie Whitehead scored 21 points to lead Johnson & Wales. The Wildcats couldn't get their offense untracked. Ashley Thompson scored six points. Jordan Neylon and Savannah Kresge scored five points apiece. 

"We jumped on them early," said Rochester head coach Jim Scheible. "I thought out defense played with a lot of energy. We didn't want them to get all the way to the rim."

JWU coach Corey Boilard agreed. "We got some of the things we wanted early in the paint," he said. "Their length allows them to recover. You get the ball inside to shoot and there are people 5-10, 6-0 running at you."

Rochester scored 34 points in the paint to 18 for Johnson & Wales. "Coach said keep pounding it inside," Leslie said. "We just tried to do that." 

Leslie hit nine of 14 floor shots and seven of eight from the line. Kronenwetter made four of 10 from the floor. Eleven of the 15 players scored at least one point and nine made at least one field goal.

The Yellowjackets held a 56-34 edge on the backboards, 46-11 at JWU's end of the floor. Tylar Guerrieri grabbed 10 rebounds. Lauren Deming and Cassandra McCambridge had five each to go along with Leslie's eight.

Rochester's depth played a big role in the game according to Boilard. "The four players they bring off the bench  - 35, 23, 14, and 15 (Hurley, Guerrieri, Jillian Silvestri, and Kronenwetter) – are all 5-10 and talker. You don't see length off the bench like that in our league, the GNAC. (Great Northeast Athletic Conference)." 

The Yellowjackets made 16 of 34 field goal attempts in the first half (47%) and ran to a 43-17 lead. "They play a lot through 42 (Leslie)," Boilard said. "What they do, they do very well. We tried to force them to do things they are not comfortable with. Our effort was there." 

Four minutes into the game, Rochester held a slim 6-4 lead. Kibling sank a three-pointer to trigger a 10-2 run that opened a 10-point lead, 16-6. After a three-pointer by Whitehead pulled JWU within 19-11 in the last 2:24, Kronenwetter sandwiched layups around a Kibling jumper and Rochester had a 25-11 lead after one.

Scheible sees JWU becoming a basketball stronghold. "Corey's elevated that program in a hurry," he said. "I'm glad we caught them as sophomores. When those players become seniors, that team will be powerful."