GENEVA, NY -- For the second straight season, the RIT (18-8) women's basketball team will play for a league championship after a 62-45 win at No. 2 seed William Smith College (17-9) in the Liberty League Tournament Semifinal Wednesday evening from Bristol Gym. The Tigers, the third seed, will face No. 4 seed Clarkson University in the title game on Saturday at Clark Gymnasium. The winner will earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. 

RIT advanced after a big second half that saw the Tigers outscore the Herons 34-21. Cori Okada (Fullerton, CA/Troy) led the second-half charge, scoring 12 of her game-high 18 points in the second half. 

"Cori really asserted herself in the second half," said RIT head coach Amy Reed. "We had several other players step up and make big plays late in the game."

RIT shot 42.6 percent from the floor on 23-of-54 shooting. RIT went 4-of-10 from behind the arc, but made 12-of-14 free throws. Okada led RIT with 18 points, four assists and three steals. Tara Lynch (Green Township, NJ/Newton) added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Julia Bender (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas) grabbed eight boards, five points, and two steals. Jessica Glaz (Rockaway Beach, NY/Scholars Academy), who was in foul trouble most of the game, finished with nine points on just three field goal attempts. 

Melanie Patterson led William Smith with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists. Alyssa DiCampoli tallied nine points, and Mia Morrison finished with eight points and 10 rebounds for the Herons, who shot 32.8 percent for the game.

RIT scored the first seven points of the game, taking an early 7-0 lead on a pair Lynch free throws. Lynch scored four of RIT's first seven points, while Taylor Burns (Rochester, NY/Greece Odyssey) drained an early 3-pointer. William Smith responded with a 10-0 run of its own, tying the score at 12-12 on a 3-pointer by Sarah Brophy with 2:03 to play in the quarter. The Herons would lead 14-12 after the first quarter.

Tied 18-18 in the second quarter, Lynch and Okada scored back-to-back buckets for the Tigers to extend the lead to 22-18. Sydney Frank (Haverford, PA/Friends' Central) gave RIT a 26-20 lead on her jumper with 2:23 to play. Okada scored with 1:31 to play to give RIT a 28-22 lead, but Patterson scored with 40 seconds to play to make it 28-24 RIT at the half.

A pair of Okada free throws early in the third quarter gave RIT an eight-point lead. William Smith got the lead down to five points on a jumper by Morrison with 6:05 to play. RIT answered with a 7-2 spurt, taking a 45-35 lead on a jumper by Amanda Olsen (Glen Mills, PA/Archmere Academy). An Okada 3-pointer with 1:06 to play and Olsen bucket 33 seconds later gave the Tigers a 52-39 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Tigers outscored William Smith 14-6 over the final 6:05 of the third to build their lead to double digits.

RIT's defense was excellent in the fourth quarter, as they outscored the Herons 10-6 over the final 10 minutes. Bender scored early in the fourth to extend RIT's lead to 54-39. Glaz made three free throws late in the game to give the Tigers the 17-point win. 

"I am really proud of our rebounding effort tonight," said Reed. "We set a goal of only allowing three offensive boards per quarter, and we did that."

The Tigers won all three meetings against the Herons this season, all by double digits. RIT has now won eight of its last nine games heading into the league championship. RIT now has 38 wins over the last two seasons.

RIT will face Clarkson in the title game for the second straight season. Clarkson defeated the Tigers, 57-55 in last season's title game in Potsdam. Saturday will be the first time the Tigers will host a Liberty League Championship.