ROCHESTER, NY – Big shots down the stretch and a game-winning block by Jessica Glaz (Rockaway Beach, NY/Scholars Academy) proved to be the difference as the RIT women's basketball team (18-4, 11-2 Liberty League) won its eighth straight game with a 61-59 victory over St. Lawrence (15-7, 8-5 Liberty League) at Clark Gymnasium on Friday evening.
 
After missing her first six shots from beyond the arc, Glaz took a feed from Cori Okada (Fullerton, CA/Troy) in the corner, hitting a 3-pointer that gave the Tigers their first lead of the second half, 55-54, with 2:03 remaining. RIT would not relinquish that lead down the stretch as Amanda Olsen (Glen Mills, PA/Archmere Academy) and Julia Bender (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) hit big shots to keep the Tigers afloat.
 
With a two-point lead, six seconds left in regulation, and the ball, St. Lawrence's Lauren Quattrocchi drove to the lane for what seemed like the game-tying basket. Glaz reached up and blocked the shot from in the paint out of bounds, saving the game for RIT as the buzzer sounded.
 
"We were just fortunate to come out with the victory against a very tough team," said RIT women's basketball head coach Amy Reed. "We had something to prove after we played them up there [at St. Lawrence] and we didn't play very well."
 
Bender led the Tigers with a double-double, scoring 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting, adding 10 rebounds. Maria Edwards (Forrest Hill, MD/The Carroll School) scored 11 points, dishing out two assists with a steal. Glaz and Tara Lynch (Green Township, NJ/Newton) each added nine points, while Okada added eight points from off the bench.
 
Caroline Dalton paced the Saints with 13 points, adding eight rebounds. Quattrocchi added 12 points, hitting both of her shots from 3-point range.
 
The Tigers shot a consistent 42.9 percent from the field in both halves to pull off the victory. Defensively, they held St. Lawrence to just 22 second-half points, and 29 percent shooting from the field.
 
"Our defense was really good in the second half," Reed said. "Offensively, our top three scorers struggled a bit, but we had quality scoring from Maria, Cori, and Taylor Burns (Rochester, NY/Greece Odyssey) to keep us in the game."
 
Both teams struggled from the start offensively. After going 1-for-2 from the line in the game's first possession, St. Lawrence got on the board with its first field goal 3:37 into the first quarter. The Tigers remained scoreless until Maria Edwards (Forrest Hill, MD/The Carroll School) broke the drought, knocking down two free throws with 5:27 remaining. 35 seconds later, Okada stole the ball from Dalton at the top of the arc, going coast-to-coast with the lay-up.
 
RIT held a brief 9-8 lead after a lay up by Bender, but the Saints took advantage, going on a brief 6-2 burst to hold a 13-11 lead after one. St. Lawrence held the advantage through the second and third quarters, hitting a pair of big shots to keep the Tigers at bay. With time ticking away at the end of the first half, Jenny Scudder hit a mid-range shot from the free throw line, giving the Saints a 37-32 halftime lead. With a few seconds left in the third quarter, Shayna Davner curled to the wing, launching a rushed no-look three from her hip that hit nothing but net as the period expired, pushing the lead back to five, at 48-43.
 
RIT made its move in the fourth quarter, chipping away at the St. Lawrence lead. The Tigers went on a 9-2 run in 4:15 to tie the game at 52-52 with 4:54 remaining, leading to the RIT heroics at the end.
 
With the victory, the Tigers keep pace with Clarkson at the top of the conference standings at 11-2. Clarkson, which picked up the victory at William Smith, will take on the Tigers on Saturday in a battle for the top seed in the upcoming Liberty League Tournament.
 
The Saturday matchup will take place at 2 p.m.