SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – The RIT women's basketball team (8-2, 1-0 Liberty League) tipped off Liberty League play with a crucial victory, beating defending league champion Skidmore (6-5, 1-2 Liberty League) 81-74 on Friday evening.
 
Four players scored in double digits for the Tigers. Tara Lynch (Green Township, NJ/Newton) led all scorers with 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field, adding six rebounds. Taylor Burns (Rochester, NY/Greece Odyssey) added a season-high 15 points, on 4-for-7 shooting. Jessica Glaz (Rockaway Beach, NY/Scholars Academy) scored 11 points, adding five assists and two steals, while Cori Okada (Fullerton, CA/Troy) scored eight of her 10 points in the third quarter.
 
The highest scoring team in the Liberty League, RIT was able to shoot 49 percent on the field against the best scoring defensive team in the conference, including a scorching 70 percent in the second half. The Tigers also forced 26 Skidmore turnovers.
 
Kelly Donnelly scored 20 points on 6-for-17 shooting to lead the Thoroughbreds, who were held to 38 percent from the field. With the win, RIT improves to 5-4 all time against the Thoroughbreds and records its first ever win at Skidmore.
 
"This was a big road win," said RIT women's basketball head coach Amy Reed. "League road wins are great no matter what. We struggled with putting them away, and credit Skidmore for that. But we hit big shots down the stretch, and got great production from our bench."
 
After an evenly played first quarter, the Tigers went on a run in the second quarter, going on a 13-3 run to bring the score up to 37-26. In the third quarter, Skidmore made a run, bringing the game to within nine, at 49-40. But Cori Okada (Fullerton, CA/Troy) took over in the tail end of the third, scoring the Tigers' final eight points of the quarter, stretching the lead to 57-43 after three.
 
The Thoroughbreds staged a furious rally in the final period, scoring 31 points, cutting the RIT lead to six in the final minute. Lynch and Maria Edwards (Forrest Hill, MD/The Carroll School) eventually sealed the win, hitting crucial free throws to preserve the victory.
 
The Tigers will continue play tomorrow afternoon as they travel to Troy, N.Y. to take on Rensselaer (5-6, 1-1 Liberty League) at 2 p.m.