From University of Rochester Athletics
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. Rochester is ranked No. 13 in both the D3hoops.com and WBCA polls this week. Washington is ranked No. 9 by both polls.
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.
This game came one week after Washington defeated Rochester, 59-38, in St. Louis.