ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT (4-2) women's basketball team defeated Nazareth College (3-2) by a score of 71-63 in the second round of the Wendy's Classic Tournament on Thursday night at the University of Rochester.
 
Junior Ashlynn Palmitesso (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley) led RIT with 17 while shooting 3-of-4 from behind the arc and 4-of-5 from the line. She also had two rebounds and two steals. Freshmen Jessi Glaz added 13 points, while Taylor Burns (Rochester, NY/Greece Odyssey) added 12 and grabbed nine rebounds. Amanda Olsen (Glen Mills, PA/Archmere Academy) added 10 points and five steals for the Tigers, while Merissa Maiorano (Rochester, NY/Pittsford Mendon) scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds. 

RIT shot 36.5 percent from the floor for the game on 19-of-52 shooting. The Tigers made 6-of-14 3-pointers and were 27-of-40 from the foul line.
 
In the first half, Palmitesso led the Tigers with 11 points with three 3-pointers. At the 12:44 mark Olsen made a big steal and kicked the ball to Sydney Frank (Haverford, PA/Friends' Central) on the wing. Frank drew the foul and made her first foul shot to take a 9-8 lead that the Tigers would keep the rest of the half. The Tigers shot 37.9 percent from the floor on 11-of-29 shooting to take a 34-27 lead into halftime.
 
The Golden Flyers came out strong in the second half to go on a 10-2 run to take a one-point lead on the Tigers, 37-36. At the 13:50 mark, Olsen came back with three quick points to regain RIT's lead they would keep the rest of the game. With 7:30 left in the game, Glaz was fouled from behind the arc, making all three shots to give the Tigers a 15-pont lead, their biggest of the game.

"We had great production from our bench tonight," said RIT head coach Amy Reed. "We had three players off the bench score in double digits which helped us a lot. Although our offensive woes still plagued us, we were able to find a way to win against a good team."
 
Lindsey Kelly led Nazareth with a double-double, scoring 20 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Hannah Runyon added 13 points, while Sam Sorge scored nine off of three 3-pointers.
 
The Tigers will be back in action Saturday, Dec. 5 against either William Smith or SUNY Brockport at 3 p.m. on the campus of Nazareth College.