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Yellowjackets Finish Third In Final Wendy's Classic With Win Over St. John Fisher

Yellowjackets Finish Third In Final Wendy's Classic With Win Over St. John Fisher
Posted: Dec 05, 2015

From University of Rochester Athletics

In the final version of the illustrious Wendy's College Classic, the University of Rochester women captured 3rd place with a 78-54 victory over St. John Fisher College on Saturday afternoon at the Louis Alexander Palestra.
 
The tournament, after 23 years on the women's side and 50 years of men's competition, will be calling it quits after 2015, so it was a bittersweet ending for the Yellowjackets to finish in 3rd.  UR has won the tournament title a record 10 times on the women's side.
 
In Saturday's game, UR (6-1) rode its two big sophomores to the victory.  Reigning All-American and D3 Rookie of the Year Alexandra Leslie finished with a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds while sophomore guard Lauren Deming added 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.  Junior Sarah Kaminsky hit 3-of-4 shots, including two 3-pointers to chip in 10.
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Leading the way for St. John Fisher (5-2) was Mary Kate Cusack who ended with 20 points (11-12 FT) and five rebounds for the Cardinals.  She was the only player in double-figures for SJFC.
 
Three early 3-pointers for the Yellowjackets, one by Deming, one by Kaminsky and one by Kayla Kibling helped the host Yellowjackets to an early 11-3 lead just three minutes into the contest.
 
The Cardinals would then run off an 11-1 spurt straddling the 1st and 2nd quarters to pull back within one just 47 seconds into the 2nd.  But Rochester would answer right away, getting five straight points from Leslie and a Brynn Lauer swish on a trey to regain a nine point advantage with 6:53 left in the half.
 
Heading into the break, Jillian Silvestri hit a jumper from the left wing and UR would hold a 36-24 lead.
 
In the 3rd, the Yellowjackets kept a comfortable lead, not allowing Fisher to get within eight through the duration of the period.  A key stretch of the quarter was a 3-pointer for Lizzy Atkinson and then two Kelsey Hurley free throws that saw the lead balloon up to 15 with 3:20 to play.
 
Leslie then took over the game to start the fourth, scoring UR's first eight points of the period.  Her strong performance throughout the tournament awarded her a spot All-Wendy's Classic Team, receiving the award for the second straight season.
 
Overall in the contest, 3-point shooting was a big difference as UR hit 8-of-18 (44%) while the Cardinals struggled from beyond the arc, connecting on just 2-of-15 chances (13%).  UR held a slim rebounding edge, 46-42 and swatted seven blocks.