From University of Rochester Athletics
A dominating third quarter and another impressive performance from All-American Alexandra Leslie lifted the University of Rochester women's basketball team to a 71-49 victory over Nazareth College on Saturday evening in the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout at St. John Fisher College.
The win, Rochester's fourth straight, moves the #11 ranked Yellowjackets to 6-1 on the season while Nazareth drops to 3-3 with the loss.
Leslie was a strong presence in the paint and on the glass for the 'Jackets, finishing with a game high 24 points, also adding 13 rebounds and two blocked shots while playing only 25 minutes. Lauren Deming and Lizzy Atkinson added nine points for UR while Sarah Kaminsky chipped in eight and freshman Ally Forness added six.
The first quarter was dominated by Rochester's junior All-American center who scored eight of Rochester 14 points, all of which came in a 9-0 run that UR used to build a seven point lead at 14-7 with under three minutes to play in the period.
Atkinson provided a spark off the bench for Rochester in the second quarter, pouring in seven points as a part of a 14-2 Rochester spurt that would build the Yellowjacket lead to 14 points, leading 35-21. At the break, UR would be up by 12, leading 37-25.
Coming out of halftime, the Yellowjackets quickly built their lead up to 20 on the backs of an 8-0 run fueled by seven Leslie points and a wide open 3-pointer from Kaminsky. Meanwhile, Nazareth struggled mightily after halftime, making only one field goal in the third period as Rochester would outscore the Golden Flyers 20-2 and cruise to the victory.
Nazareth couldn't handle UR's size inside as the Yellowjackets dominated the rebounding battle 47-33 in the contest. That came on the heels of UR getting outrebounded for the first time this season in Friday's night's win against St. John Fisher.
Sam Sorge led Naz in scoring with 17 points, including three 3-pointers while Samantha Peebles added 13 points and six rebounds.
The Crosstown Shootout tournament, also featuring other local schools in host St. John Fisher 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.