SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — The RIT (8-1, 1-1 Liberty League) women's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season Saturday, falling to Skidmore College (5-5, 2-0 Liberty League), 67-66. The Tigers led by six points late in the game, but could not hold on, snapping their eight-game winning streak.

RIT shot 44.3 percent from the floor on 27-of-61 shooting. The Tigers went 7-of-19 from behind the arc, and were 5-of-8 from the foul line. Jessica Glaz (Rockaway Beach, NY/Scholars Academy) led the Tigers with 22 points, four rebounds and five steals. Cori Okada (Fullerton, CA/Troy) added 10 points and four assists, while Taylor Burns (Rochester, NY/Greece Odyssey) scored 14 points off the bench.

Kelly Donnelly led Skidmore with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Migle Vilunaite tallied 15 points and had 12 rebounds for the Thoroughbreds, who held a 44-31 rebounding edge.

RIT trailed 12-7 early in the first quarter, but rallied to take a brief 15-14 lead on a layup by Burns late in the quarter. Donnelly drained a jumper on Skidmore's next possession to give the Thoroughbred a one point edge as the quarter ended. Glaz led RIT with five first-quarter points, while five other Tigers scored.

Glaz gave RIT its first lead on her 3-pointer with 8:18 to play in the second quarter. Ashlynn Palmitesso (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley) made it 22-19 RIT with her bucket on RIT's next possession. After Skidmore scored the next seven points to take a 26-22 lead midway through the quarter, RIT outscored Skidmore 14-6 over the final 6:32 to lead 36-32 at halftime.

Two straight 3-pointers from Burns and Glaz early in the third quarter extended the Tigers lead to 44-37. After a Skidmore bucket cut the leaf 44-39, Burns drained another 3-pointer to give RIT a 47-39 lead at the 6:47 mark of the quarter. Skidmore pulled to within two points on a basket by Vilunaite with 4:16 to play in the quarter. The Tigers held off a Skidmore charge at the end of the quarter to lead 55-52 heading into the final 10 minutes. 

Burns gave RIT a 62-56 lead with her jumper with 6:42 to play in the fourth quarter. Buckets from Donnelly and Lilly Berg pulled the Thoroughbreds to within 62-60 with 5:40 to play in regulation. Okada drove and scored with a pull-up jumper to give RIT a 64-60 with 3:23 to play in the fourth. After a Glaz steal, Okada drove and scored to make it 66-60 with 2:14 to play.

Donnelly answered with a layup for Skidmore at the other end to cut the lead to 66-62 with 1:38 to play. After a RIT turnover, Fustini drained a 3-pointer from the corner with 46 seconds to play to make it 66-65 RIT. Skidmore got another chance when RIT turned the ball over near mid-court with 17 seconds to play in regulation. 

Off the timeout, Donnelly was fouled in the act of shooting. She made both free throws to give Skidmore a 67-66 lead with six seconds to play. RIT called timeout, advancing the ball to mid-court. With four fouls to give, Skidmore fouled on three straight inbounds plays, with the clock moving from seconds to two. RIT tried a desperation shot as time expired, but it bounced off the rim to give Skidmore the win. Skidmore outscore RIT 7-0 over the final 2:14 of the game.

Despite today's loss, RIT finished the 2016 calendar year with a tremendous 21-6 record.

RIT returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, when the Tigers host University of Rochester  at 5 p.m. on the floor of Clark Gymnansium.