GENEVA, NY -- The RIT (3-1) women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, falling to SUNY Geneseo (3-1), 58-56 in the opening round of 23rd Wendy's College Classic at Bristol Gym on the campus of William Smith College Tuesday evening. The Tigers, the No. 7 seed, will face No. 6 Nazareth in the consolation round on Thursday from Roberts Wesleyan at 6 p.m. Geneseo will face No. 3 seed Rochester in the semifinals on Thursday at The University of Rochester at 8 p.m.

RIT led by as many as 14 points in the first half, and held a 10-point lead with 6:46 to play in the fourth quarter. But, the Knights rallied back and won on a bucket by Katie Durand with four seconds to play in regulation.

"I thought we made too many mistakes down the stretch," said head coach Amy Reed. "We allowed too many offensive rebounds late in the game, and you cannot do that against a good team. We have to learn from this and be ready for Thursday."

Jessica Glaz (Rockaway Beach, NY/Scholars Academy) led RIT with 19 points, four rebounds and four steals. Cori Okada (Fullerton, CA/Troy) chipped in 16 points and four assists off the bench, while Tara Lynch (Green Township, NJ/Newton) scored 12 points. Julia Bender (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) and Amanda Olsen (Glen Mills, PA/Archmere Academy) led RIT with nine rebounds apiece.

Durand and Allison McKenna led Geneseo with 14 points apiece. Dana Cohan tallied nine points, while McKenna led the Knights with nine rebounds. 

Geneseo scored the first two buckets of the game, taking a 4-0 lead on a layup by McKenna off an assist from Lea Sobieraski. The Tigers came roaring back, out scoring the Knights 19-6 over the final 8:30 to lead 19-10 after the quarter. Glaz hit a three that gave RIT a 13-8 lead. On the Tigers next possession, Olsen drained a three of her own giving the Tigers a 16-8 lead. In all, RIT made 5-of-10 from three-point land in the first quarter.

RIT built its largest lead of the game in the second quarter, taking a 28-14 lead on a pair of free throws from Abby Judd (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland). Okada played a big role in heping RIT build its lead, draining two buckets, including a three from the top of the arc with 4:15 to play in the half. Geneseo answered with a 7-0 run to end the quarter, cutting RIT's lead to 28-21 on a three from Kara Houppert at the buzzer.

Geneseo made a run in the third quarter, cutting the RIT lead to 30-28 on a three by Cohan at the 7:10 mark. A three from Okada and a free throw by Lynch and Okada built the Tigers lead back to 35-28 with 6:03 to play in the quarter. A pair of Kayleigh Cavanaugh free throws late in the quarter cut the RIT lead to 40-37. But, Olsen answered with a bucket with 29 seconds to play giving the Tigers a 42-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

RIT controlled play through the start of the fourth quarter, taking a 49-40 lead on a layup by Okada at the 8:04 mark. Glaz made it a 52-42 RIT lead on her three with 6:46 to play. But, the Knights chipped away at the lead, tying the game at 52-52 on a Houppert layup with 2:07 to play. She gave the Knights their first lead since early in the first quarter with 48 seconds to play. Lynch made a pair of free throws with 28 seconds to play tying the sore at 56-56 setting up Durand's game winning bucket.

RIT shot 33.3 percent from the floor on 18-of-54 shooting. The Tigers were 9-of-22 from three-point land, and went 11-of-14 from the foul line. RIT held a slight 39-37 rebounding edge.