From University of Rochester Athletics
The University of Rochester women's basketball team used a strong inside game, powering past St. John Fisher 72-49 on Friday evening at Fisher's Bobby Wanzer Court in the opening game of the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout.
#11 ranked UR moves to 5-1 with the victory while the Cardinals drop to 2-4. The Crosstown Shootout tournament, also featuring other local schools in Nazareth and RIT takes the place of the Wendy's College Classic which ended its run hosting a Rochester area colleges tournament following the 2015-16 season.
Overall in the contest, Rochester outscored St. John Fisher 34-16 in the paint, behind the strong presence of All-American Alexandra Leslie. Leslie scored a game high 23 points and added four rebounds and three assists while shooting 9-11 from the floor. The only other Yellowjacket in double figures was junior Lauren Deming who added 10 points and six rebounds.
The Cardinals were led by Jessica Rhone who had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Caroline Robertson added 14 points and four boards.
Late in the first quarter, the Yellowjackets took the lead for good in the contest with a 7-0 run to go from down one at 8-7 to up six at 14-8. A Lauren Foley 3-pointer, a Deming lay-in and two Leslie free throws made up the spurt. Foley ended the game with eight points and three steals.
Rochester's lead ballooned to 16 after a 14-2 run midway through the second quarter. Rochester was 6-11 from the floor during the stretch while St. John Fisher made just one of six attempts from the floor and committed five turnovers. Back-to-back treys from Brenna James and Foley provided a key spark while Leslie added the opening and closing buckets in the run.
The Yellowjackets would cruise the rest of the way, not allowing Fisher back within 10 the rest of the contest. The closest SJFC would get would be 10 points on a couple of occasions, including with 45 seconds left in the opening half following an Erin Hulbert 3-pointer.
Entering the fourth, Rochester still only had a 12-point advantage, but an extended 17-4 run spanning nearly five minutes secured the win for the visitors.
Overall, Rochester shot 52% (24-46) from the floor and 33% (5-15) from long range compared to totals of 37% (18-49) and 29% (2-7) for the Cardinals. St. John Fisher would outrebound Rochester 36-28, the first time UR would end on the short side of the rebounding margin this year.