Seniors lead women to 20th win of season

Seniors Tara Carrozza, Shannon Higgins and Erika Smith got to end their home campaigns in style on Sunday, after leading the Yellowjackets to a 56-43 victory over Emory University at the Palestra. UR finished the season 12-0 at home. The seniors led an 8-0 run near the end of the first half to break open a dead-even game that was tied at nine. From there, UR cruised to a 25-17 halftime lead. Emory was able to cut the Yellowjackets’ lead to five on several occasions during the beginning of the second half. However, threes from sophomore Jessie Graham and Smith pushed UR ahead 40-27 at the 12:03 mark.The Yellowjackets pushed the lead to as much as 16 points with a 56-40 lead at the one-minute mark. However, a futile three-pointer by Emory’s Byron Beth gave the game its final score of 56-43. The Yellowjackets’ three seniors each made vital contributions in the game.Smith scored 15 points and nabbed nine rebounds. Carrozza’s scored six points and she led the team with an astonishing nine assists. Higgins scored two points and contributed five rebounds in her home finale.Junior Megan Fish was one of three Yellowjackets to score in double-digits. Fish finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two steals. Graham ended with 11 points, four rebounds and a blocked shot. Graham went 3-6 from beyond the three-point arc, leading the Yellowjackets in three-point field goals.The Yellowjackets are now 20-4 overall and are tied for third place in the UAA at 9-4. The win gave the team back-to-back 20-win seasons, which has only happened one other time in school history. The Yellowjackets finish the regular season on Friday at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Carnegie Mellon is 3-21 overall and 0-13 in UAA action. If the Yellowjackets can defeat CMU, they will be assured no worse than third in the conference. UR will finish second overall if the Yellowjackets best CMU and the University of Chicago upsets Washington University in St. Louis on Friday.The Yellowjackets will finish third overall if they defeat CMU on Friday.The Yellowjackets will finish fourth only in the event that CMU upsets them on Friday and Brandeis University upsets conference champion New York University in Manhattan on Friday. The Yellowjackets are likely to make the NCAA tourney.Tipton can be reached at rtipton@campustimes.org.