ROCHESTER, NY – The RIT (19-8) women's basketball team won its first conference title in the 30-year history of the program with an 85-72 win over Clarkson University (16-11) in the Liberty League Tournament championship Saturday afternoon from Clark Gymnasium. With the win, RIT wins the automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament. It will be the first time in program history the Tigers will appear in the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore guard
Cori Okada (Fullerton, CA/Troy) was named the Liberty League Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, tallying 21 points and dishing out eight assists in the title game.
Jessica Glaz (Rockaway Beach, NY/Scholars Academy), an All-Tournament team selection, led all scorers with a season-high 27 points on 8-of-12 shooting, draining 6-of-7 from beyond the arc.
Taylor Burns (Rochester, NY/Greece Odyssey) scored 13 points and added 11 rebounds, also earning All-Tournament team honors.
Tara Lynch (Green Township, NJ/Newton) added 10 points and nine rebounds.
"We had players stepping and making plays today," said RIT head coach
Amy Reed. "I think the strategy at this point is that it's about us. We need to play together and play to our strengths, do what we do well. When we do that and play together we are fun to watch. I'm looking to see if we can put 40 minutes together (in the NCAA Tournament) and play to our potential."
Devin Sorell led Clarkson with 16 points and six rebounds, earning All-Tournament team honors, while Kathleen Coloney tallied 18 points, earning all-tournament team honors.
RIT never trailed on Saturday, leading 26-15 after the first quarter. The Tigers scored the first seven points of the game, taking a 7-0 lead on a Lynch layup less than three minutes into the game. Grobe cut the RIT lead to 9-6 with her 3-pointer with 5:36 to play. The Tigers closed out the quarter scoring the final seven points to lead by 11.
The Tigers extended their lead to 22 points on a Glaz 3-pointer with 4:44 to play in the first half. An Okada 3-pointer with 1:27 to play gave RIT its largest lead of the half, 47-21, which would be the score at the intermission.
RIT shot 55.6 percent from the floor in the first half on 10-of-18 shooting. Glaz led RIT with 15 points, while Okada and Lynch each scored 10 points.
The Tigers extended their lead to 28 points early in the second half on a jumper by Okada. Clarkson would get going, outscoring the Tigers 27-12 the rest of the third quarter to trail 61-48 heading into the fourth. Grobe's bucket as time expired in the quarter cut the lead 13.
The Golden Knights cut the RIT lead to nine points on a layup by Alyssia Marsal with 4:53 to play in the game. That capped off a 9-2 run by the Golden Knights. A Sorell free throw with 4:13 to play cut the RIT lead to 71-63.
Burns answered back with a big layup off an assist from Lynch with 3:58 to play to extend the lead to 73-63, then a pair of
Ashlynn Palmitesso (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley) free throws made it a 12-point Tigers lead with 3:13 to play. Clarkson tried to foul RIT down the stretch to stay in the game, but the Tigers made critical free throws to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Burns had three critical defensive rebounds down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
Clarkson held a slight 44-43 rebounding advantage. RIT turned the ball over just eight times, while forcing the Golden Knights into 17 turnovers.
RIT won the season series between the two schools, 2-1 and was able to win the rematch of last year's Liberty League Championship, won by Clarkson on its home floor.
The Tigers have now won 39 games over the last two seasons.
RIT awaits the time, place and opponent for the 2017 NCAA Division III Tournament. The
NCAA selection show will take place on Monday, Feb. 27 at 2:30 p.m. Check
www.ritathletics.com for more information.
All-Tournament Team:
Kelly Donnelly – Skidmore
Kathleen Coloney – Clarkson
Deven Sorell – Clarkson
Jessica Glaz (Rockaway Beach, NY/Scholars Academy) – RIT
Taylor Burns (Rochester, NY/Greece Odyssey) – RIT
Cori Okada (Fullerton, CA/Troy) – Liberty League Most Outstanding Player
