ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT women's basketball team (2-1) downed Hamilton College (2-2), 77-60 in its home opener Saturday night at Clark Gym. The Tigers shot an impressive 56.5 percent from the floor (26-for-46). Junior
Ashlynn Palmitesso (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley) led RIT with a career-high 33 points to surpass her old Clark Gym scoring record of 32, set against Skidmore College on Jan. 25, 2014. Palmitesso shot 12-of-18 from the field and was 6-of-9 from behind the arc, tying her previous record for most 3-pointers in a game.
Julia Bender (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) added 13 points for the Tigers, while
Merissa Maiorano (Rochester, NY/Pittsford Mendon) dropped nine points and grabbed six rebounds.
Sarah Wolcott (Cohocton, NY/Wayland-Cohocton) and Amando Olsen each scored six points, while Wolcott had four rebounds.
Hamilton shot 30.2 percent from the floor on 16-of-53 shooting, while 5-of-14 from behind the arc. Sam Graber led the Continentals with a double-double, scoring 25 points and 10 rebounds. Caronline Barrett added 12 points, while Theresa Salud and Samantha Srinivasan contributed six apiece.
RIT led 39-33 at halftime after exchanging the lead three times with Hamilton. Palmitesso scored seven consecutive points for RIT early in the first half to give the Tigers the lead for good. Palmitesso led RIT with 13 first half points, shooting 3-of-6 from behind the arc. Bender chipped in nine points and a steal while Maiorano had five. Wolcott and Olsen had four points apiece.
Graber led Hamilton with 12 first-half points, shooting 5-of-11 from the field and 1-of-3 from behind the arc. Barrett added seven, while Srinivasan recorded six.
Leading 56-50 with 6:35 to play, RIT went on an 18-8 run over a 5:05 span, opening up 74-58 lead on a layup by Bender with 1:54 to play. The run helped RIT secure its first win over Hamilton College in school history in nine all-time contests.
"It was a nice team win tonight," said RIT head coach
Amy Reed. "We made some defensive adjustments at half time and were patient offensively, getting solid looks at the basket. Ashlynn (Palmitesso) and Julia (Bender) were great tonight. It is nice when different players step up each night. Our goal was to hold them to 60 and we were able to do that."
The Tigers will be back in action Monday, Nov. 24 against Keuka College at Clark Gym. That contest gets underway at 6 p.m.
