AMHERST, MA – The RIT (23-7) women's basketball team had its historic 2017-18 season come to an end on Friday with a 59-55 loss to The University of Rochester (24-4) in the Sectional Semifinal of the 2018 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship on the campus of Amherst College. Rochester advances to the Sectional Final where they will face the winner between Amherst and Montclair State.

"I am so proud of this team," said RIT head coach Amy Reed. "What an amazing run we had. I could not be any happier to be associated with a wonderful group of ladies."

RIT shot 30.2 percent from the floor on 19-of-63 shooting. The Tigers made 5-of-15 from beyond the arc, and made 12-of-18 from the foul line. Jessica Glaz (Rockaway Beach, NY/Scholars Academy), the program's all-time leading scorer, led the Tigers with 13 points and seven rebounds. Tara Lynch (Green Township, NJ/Newton) tallied nine points and 11 rebounds, while Amanda Olsen (Glen Mills, PA/Archmere Academy) tallied eight points and had 10 rebounds.

Alexandra Leslie led Rochester with 17 points and tied her career-high with 21 rebounds. Lauren Deming chipped in 17 points for the Yellowjackets, who shot 37.3 percent from the floor.

RIT came out firing to lead 22-15 after one quarter of play. Glaz drained a 3-pointer with just over five minutes to play in the quarter to give the Tigers the early lead. Wolfe extended RIT lead to 11-6 on a pair of free throws at 4:34. After a Deming 3-pointer cut the lead to 11-9, Cori Okada (Fullerton, CA/Troy) made banked in a 3-pointer with 4:09 to play in the opening quarter that extended the Tigers lead to 14-9. Lynch made both free throws to give RIT its largest lead of the quarter at 16-9. Olsen scored off an assist from Okada as the buzzer sounded to give RIT a seven-point lead after one quarter of play. Lynch led the Tigers with six points, while Glaz tallied five for the Tigers, who shot 38.1 percent from the floor in the quarter.

Rochester opened the second quarter on a 15-2 run, taking a 30-24 with inside the final two minutes of the half. The Tigers scored just four points in the quarter to trail 30-26 at the half.

RIT shot 27.8 percent from the floor in the opening half on 10-of-36 shooting. Lynch led RIT with eight points and five rebounds. Glaz tallied five points, while Amanda Olsen (Glen Mills, PA/Archmere Academy) grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Deming led Rochester with 13 points.

The Tigers continued their offensive struggles to start the second half. Atkinson drained a free throw, and Leslie scored off an offensive rebound with 3:05 to play in the third quarter to increase the Rochester lead to 42-33. Okada picked up her fourth foul on the play, forcing her to the bench. Leslie converted an old-fashioned 3-point play with 28 seconds to play in the third to give the Yellowjackets a 45-35 lead. Abby Judd (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford Sutherland) drained a 3-pointer right before the buzzer sounded to cut the Rochester lead to 45-38 heading into the final quarter.

Okada returned with 7:53 to play in regulation and RIT trailing 49-42. Glaz cut the lead to 52-47 on her offensive rebound and put-back off a Lynch missed free throw with less than seven minutes to play in regulation. Trailing 56-50 with under three minutes to play, Okada came off a screen and drained a 3-pointer, cutting the Rochester lead to 56-53. Brooke Stanley (Minnetonka, MN/Benilde-St. Margaret's) laid the ball in with 1:15 to play to make it a 56-55 Rochester lead. The Tigers got the ball back after a big defensive stop inside the last minute of regulation. Glaz had the ball and lost it out of bounds as she drove to the basket. Deming stepped to the foul line with 17.4 seconds to play. She made both to give the Yellowjackets a 58-55 lead.

Okada had a great look a 3-pointer that just came off the rim and out-of-bounds to Rochester. Deming missed a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining, but the Yellowjackets got the loose ball. Leslie would hit one final free-throw to ice the game for Rochester.

"We came up a little short tonight, but we kept fighting to the very end," said Glaz, who finished her stellar four-year career as RIT's all-time leading scorer with 1,501 points. "We showed the world what RIT is about."

The 23 wins by RIT is a single-season program record. The Tigers won their first two NCAA Tournament games and advanced to the third round for the first time in its 31-year history.

"I think this program has come a long way," said Reed. "We are working every day to keep build and keep getting better."

RIT's senior class of Sydney Frank (Haverford, PA/Friends' Central), Glaz, Judd, Whitney Kent (Hinsdale, NY/Cuba-Rushford), Olsen and Jessica Shields (Lyons, NY/Newark) combined to win 74 games (most in a four-year span in school history) and make two trips to the NCAA Tournament.