DELAWARE, OHIO – Rochester jumped off to a 13-3 lead in the first five minutes of play and went on to an 85-67 victory over Kalamazoo College in the Hoops For Hope women's basketball tournament at Ohio Wesleyan University on Thursday evening.
The victory puts Rochester into the championship game on Friday afternoon against Ohio Wesleyan. The Battling Bishops defeated Goucher College, 82-56, in the first game on Thursday.
This was Rochester's first competitive game after an 18-day layoff. The previous game was against Ithaca College in the Palestra. The win boosted the UR record to 7-2. Kalamazoo is 1-9 overall.
Rochester got plenty of offensive help, particularly in the first half. Eight players scored. Alexandra Leslie led the scorers at halftime with 14 points, hitting six of nine from the floor. Lauren Deming had nine points in the first half. Lauren Foley had five first half points. Lizzy Atkinson and Ally Forness had four points each.
Leslie led all scorers with 22 points. She also grabbed 10 rebounds to achieve her 28th career double-double. Deming had 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, her third double-double of the season. Foley was the third double-figure scorer with 12 points, hitting five of seven from the floor, two for three outside the arc.
Kalamazoo's leaders were Emily Kozal with 17 points and six rebounds and Danielle Simon with 12 points and eight rebounds. Kozal was 6-7 at the foul line and Simon was 6-8.
The Yellowjackets held a big advantage on the boards, 54-36, thanks mainly to a 33-14 difference in the second half. The UR bench produced 44 points. In addition to 12 from Foley in 16 minutes, Jillian Silvestri had eight points. Mary Kronenwetter scored six, as did Maura McCartney (who sank a pair of treys). Kronenwetter helped the rebounding effort. She had eight boards, four at each end, in 15 minutes. Ally Forness had five rebounds and four points.
Deming scored seven points and Leslie had six before the game was five minutes old. Kalamazoo's Libby Munoz hit a three-pointer to cut the UR lead to 13-6, but Rochester answered with a 7-0 run: a layup by Sarah Kaminsky, Foley's 10 footer off the baseline, and Foley's three-pointer from right wing. The Yellowjackets stretched a 24-13 first quarter lead to 43-28 at halftime. UR used a 12-1 run to start the third period to open its biggest lead at 55-29. Leslie had four of the points, Deming scored two, and two players hit three-pointers – Brenna James and Kaminsky.