ROCHESTER, NY - For the first time in its history, the RIT women's basketball team (10-13, 5-8 Liberty League) defeated William Smith (14-9, 8-6 Liberty League) by a final score of 69-59. #
Courtney Tennant (Cortland, NY/Cortland)# paced the Tigers with a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds, while #
Leslie Havens (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton)# added 12 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
For the game, RIT shot 45.5 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Herons 49-32. The Tigers defense held William Smith to 33.3 percent shooting from the field and the Herons went 8-for-13 (61.5 percent) from the free throw line.
The Tigers grabbed a 5-4 lead on a three-pointer by #
Jess Kramer (Fayetteville, NY/Jamesville-Dewitt)# at the 17:14 mark of the first period and never relinquished the lead. The Herons managed to tie the game on three occassions, with the latest coming at 15-15 with 12 minutes remaining in the first half. From there, the Tigers would go on a 15-5 run to grab a commanding 33-20 lead. A jumper by #
Sarah Wolcott (Cohocton, NY/Wayland-Cohocton)# gave RIT their largest lead of the half at 37-22 with 2:20 left until half time. The Tigers would take a 40-27 lead into the locker room.
RIT pushed the lead to 47-33 on a layup by Tennant with just over 14 minutes left in regulation, but the Herons would claw back into the game. Over the next 9:25, William Smith went on a 21-8 run that cut the lead to 58-54 with five minutes left on the clock.
With the Tigers clinging to a six point lead with under a minute remaining, #
Jackie Hom (Newton, MA/Newton South)# went to the line. After connecting on the first attempt, Hom misfired on the second but Tennant pulled down her 13th rebound of the game and the Herons were forced to foul. Tennant hit both free throws to end William Smith's comeback bid.
The Tigers had been 0-24 all-time against William Smith, including a 63-42 defeat on Jan. 8.
RIT has now won five of their last six games and return to action on Friday, Feb. 15 as they host St. Lawrence at 6 p.m. The game will serve as the Tigers annual "Play 4 Kay" fundraising event to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research.
