ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT (6-2) women's basketball team took control from the opening tip, defeating Houghton College (3-4) 83-47 in non-conference action from Clark Gym Thursday evening. The 83 points scored is the highest output of the season for the Tigers. RIT equals the best eight-game start in program history, also having done so in 2006-07.
 
The Tigers featured a balanced scoring attack as 11 different players scored. Ashlynn Palmitesso (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley) led the way with a game-high 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers. Julia Bender (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) and Jessica Glaz (Rockaway Beach, NY/Scholars Academy) each scored 12 points, while Merissa Maiorano (Rochester, NY/Pittsford Mendon) added eight points for the Tigers, who have now won three straight games. Sydney Frank (Haverford, PA/Friends' Central), Maria Edwards (Forrest Hill, MD/The John Carroll School), Abby Judd (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland), and Amanda Olsen (Glen Mills, PA/Archmere Academy) also helped lead the offensive attack.

RIT led 41-22 at the half and never looked back. The Tigers shot 48.6 percent from the floor in the first half on 17-of-35 shooting. The Tigers made 4-of-11 from behind the arc and were 3-of-6 from the foul line. Palmitesso led RIT with 14 first-half points, while Glaz added 12. Leading 8-5 early on, RIT outscored the Highlanders 33-17 over the final 16 minutes.
 
RIT led by as many as 36 points in the second half, shooting 53.6 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes. The Tigers scored 48 points off of 36 Houghton turnovers, and tallied 34 points in the paint and 10 second-chance points.
 
RIT shot 50.8 percent from the floor for the game on 32-of-63 shooting. The Tigers were 6-of-17 from behind the arc, 13-of-21 from the line., and held a 47-30 rebounding edge.
  
The Tigers finish out the 2014 calendar year with a game at Buffalo State on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 4 p.m. in Buffalo, N.Y.