ROCHESTER, NY -- The RIT (13-7, 6-5 Liberty League) women's basketball team won a critical Liberty League game Saturday, defeating Vassar College (9-10, 6-4 Liberty League) 85-61. Senior
Ashlynn Palmitesso (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley) became the seventh player in program history to score 1,000 career points, tallying 15 on Saturday, as RIT won its third straight contest.
The Tigers shot 51.4 percent from the floor on 37-of-72 shooting. RIT went 7-of-18 from behind the arc, and went 4-of-5 from the foul line. The Tigers forced 19 Vassar turnovers to just seven of their own.
Cori Okada (Fullerton, CA/Troy) tallied a double-double, scoring 14 points, while setting a single-game program record with 12 assists, She broke the previous record of 11, held by 2016 RIT Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Ellen Monile and Sarah Szewczyk.
Jessica Glaz (Rockaway Beach, NY/Scholars Academy) led the Tigers in scoring with 20 points. while
Tara Lynch (Green Township, NJ/Newton) chipped in 19 points and seven rebounds.
Julia Bender (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) was a force defensively, with a career-high six steals and five rebounds.
Ariella Rosenthal led Vassar with 24 points and seven rebounds. Nicole Teta added 11 points, while Isa Peczuh tallied 10 points for the Brewers who shot 34.4 percent from the floor.
RIT led 29-17 after the first quarter and outscored the Brewers 21-8 in the second quarter to break the game open and hold a 50-25 lead at halftime. Glaz led RIT with 12 first-half points, while Okada and Lynch each tallied 10 points.
Vassar would make a quick run early in the second half, as Rosenthal converted an old fashioned three-point play with 5:47 to play in the quarter to cut the RIT lead to 55-39. That would be as close as Vassar would get as RIT closed out the quarter strong, leading 71-47.
The Tigers added 14 points in the fourth quarter to roll to the big win. Palmitesso scored her 1,000th point with 5:19 to play in the fourth quarter, nailing a jumper from the paint to become the seventh player in history to reach the milestone.
RIT returns to action on Friday, Feb. 3 when the Tigers host Clarkson University at 8 p.m. on the floor of Clark Gym.
