From University of Rochester Athletics
Lauren Deming and Alexandra Leslie formed a dynamic duo in Horsburgh Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon, and thanks to their efforts, the University of Rochester remains in the thick of the University Athletic Association women's basketball race.
Deming had 19 points, a career-high 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block in 26 minutes. Leslie poured in 27 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, had two assists, two blocks and two steals in 32 minutes. They helped Rochester rally for a 77-68 victory over Case Western Reserve University.
The win boosts Rochester's UAA record to 3-2. The Yellowjackets sit one game off the lead. They are tied with Washington. Carnegie Mellon and Chicago are tied for first place with 4-1 records. Brandeis, Case, and Emory are 2-3. NYU is 0-5. Overall, Rochester is 12-4 overall. Case is 10-6 overall. On opening weekend, Case went to Pittsburgh and tagged Carnegie Mellon with its only UAA loss.
Rochester's winning effort was boosted by contributions throughout the lineup. Sarah Kaminsky had 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers. Jillian Silvestri contributed seven points. Mary Kronenwetter had four points, two boards, and a block. Lizzy Atkinson drained a three-point goal, Kenna Lauer scored three points, recorded one assist, two boards, and one steal in 20 minutes. Lena Ethington had two rebounds and one steal and Brenna James set up two baskets and grabbed three rebounds. Lauren Foley connected on one three-pointer, but it came at a key moment early in the third period.
For CWRU, Hillary Hellman had 24 points, including five three-point goals. Kara Hageman scored 17 points, Alexis Amburgey had 10 (two treys in the mix), Jess McCoy scored eight points before fouling out, and Marissa Muth had seven points in 16 minutes off the bench.
UR jumped ahead early in the first quarter and led by 10, 23-13, at the break. A layup by Deming gave Rochester a 29-18 advantage before the shooting turned cold. Rochester made only three baskets in the last portion of the second quarter – two layups by Leslie and a jumper from left wing by Deming just before the halftime buzzer.
Meanwhile, Case asserted itself. Muth scored seven points. McCoy had four, Hellman started the burst with a trey, and Amburgey scored on a drive. All-in-all, Case went on an 18-4 rally to surge in front, 36-33. Deming's jumper with two seconds left cut the UR deficit to one point, 36-35, at halftime.
The third period was back and forth. Foley's three from left wing put Rochester up, 41-40. It started a mini 7-0 run (with the other four points coming from Deming). Hellman sank three of her three-point goals in the latter stages of the third quarter and the Spartans carried a 52-50 edge into the last 10 minutes.
Hageman sank consecutive baskets to push the lead to 60-57 with 5:37 to go. UR went on a 13-3 run to go ahead for good. Leslie's jumper in the paint got it started and then Kaminsky scored five points in 41 seconds. She made two free throws, then sank a three-pointer from in front of her own bench. That put UR ahead by four, 64-60. Amburgey's trey cut it to one point. Deming hit one from the line. Then Leslie made a layup with 2:16 left, and made the crucial play with 90 seconds left. She battled for an offensive board, scored on the putback, and drew a foul. When she made the free throw, Rochester had a seven-point edge (70-63). The Yellowjackets made seven of 10 from the line in the last 47 seconds to cement the win.
Notes: This was the seventh time in the last eight years that the game was decided by less than 10 points. The one game with more than a 10-point difference in that eight-game stretch was an 11-point victory – by Rochester in the Palestra last year… The last two games in Cleveland went to overtime – 79-72 Case on February 22, 2015, 75-69 Rochester on February 19, 2016… Case won two of the last three in Cleveland vs. Rochester (58-56 on February 14, 2014 in addition to the 2015 win)… Leslie boosted her career point total to 1,206 points. She is sixth in career scoring… With double-doubles on both ends of this weekend, she now has 34 career double-doubles in 70 career games. Rochester is 27-7 when she registers a double-double… Deming boosted her career point total to 680 points.