From University of Rochester Athletics
It took more than 19 minutes for the University of Rochester to hit its stride against Emory University. But once the Yellowjackets did, they rolled to victory.
Rochester outscored Emory, 34-17, over the middle two quarters enroute to a 66-52 victory on Senior Day Saturday at the Louis Alexander Palestra. The win gives Rochester a final regular season record of 21-4, 11-3 in the University Athletic Association. Emory finished 13-12, 7-7 in the UAA. UR entered the game ranked #18 in the D3hoops.com media poll and #16 in the WBCA coaches' poll.
The 11 UAA wins match Rochester's record for league victories in one season. Rochester finished 11-3 in both the 2008-09 and 2012-13 seasons. The 21 overall victories are the highest regular season total for Rochester since that 2008-09 season (also 21-4).
UR finished second to the University of Chicago in the UAA race. The Maroons defeated Washington on Saturday, 96-90, to finish 23-2, 14-0 in the UAA. Washington finished third at 18-7, 9-5. Chicago has the Pool A (automatic qualifier) to the NCAA playoffs. Rochester and Washington are Pool C (at-large) candidates. The tournament selections will be announced on Monday at 2:30 p.m. on www.ncaa.com.
Rochester's six-member Class of 2018 combined for 49 points, 21 rebounds, 11 assists, five blocked shots, and seven steals.
Lauren Deming topped the scoring column with 16 points. She added eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and three steals. Alexandra Leslie had 15 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Jillian Silvestri scored nine points in 12 minutes. Lizzy Atkinson had three assists, three boards, and one point. Mary Kronenwetter scored two points and contributed one of UR's five blocks. Brynn Lauer hit a pair of three-pointers enroute to six points. She also had three steals.
Game scoring honors went to Ashley Oldshue of Emory, She finished with 21 points and four boards in 29 minutes. Erin Lindahl scored 10 points for the Eagles. Azzairia Jackson-Sherrod and Allison Chernow scored six points each.
Emory jumped ahead quickly in the first period and maintained that edge for much of the first 20 minutes. The Eagles built the lead to five points several times in the first quarter (20-15 after one), then made it grow to seven three times in the second quarter (24-17, 28-21, and 30-23).
Rochester used a putback by Lena Ethington, a three-pointer from Lauer on right wing, and a fast break layup by Ethington that just beat the halftime horn to forge a 30-all tie at halftime. UR scored eight of the first 10 points in the third quarter, two baskets by Deming, a three-pointer from the key by Leslie, and one free throw by Atkinson. That made it 38-32 more than three minutes into the period.
Three of UR's next four baskets came from distance as the lead grew to 49-36 in the last minute of the third quarter. Deming hit from left wing, than Brenna James hit back to back triples – the first from the right corner (44-34 with 4:02 left), then from right wing the next time down the floor (47-36 with 3:26 remaining). By outscoring Emory, 19-7 in the third period, the Yellowjackets carried a 49-37 advantage into the last 10 minutes of play.