After a challenging game against top-ranked Bowdoin College, Rochester had two consecutive wins againstHartwick College and Elmira College
Rochester was looking forward to playing the top team in the country, and put up a good fight against Bowdoin in the championship game of the Chuck Resler Tournament.
The Yellowjackets played even keel with Bowdoin in the first half with strong rebounding, dominating Bowdoin on the boards 24-9. Pulling to within six points with under four minutes left, it was an exciting game for the 700-strong crowd in the Palestra.
In the final minutes, Bowdoin increased their lead, and Rochester fell to the No. 1 team, 61-46.
Senior forward Kelly Wescott led Rochester with eight rebounds and nine points. Sophomore Danielle Muller contributed with eight points, five rebounds and three steals.
“We learned that we can beat that level of team if we can play together and take care of the ball,” Head Coach Jim Scheible said.
On Sunday, Rochester returned to the Palestra to defeat Hartwick 71-59.
The Yellowjackets led for the entire game.
“The game went well early from an offensive standpoint,” Scheible said. “We moved the ball well and hit some shots. It was good for us to get back on the winning track after losing to No. 1 Bowdoin.”
Junior Jessie Graham hit four three-pointers for all of her 12 points and had eight rebounds.
Senior center Megan Fish also had 12 points. Wescott had four assists, five rebounds and a game-high 21 points to break the 1,000-point mark for her career.
With 1,005 total career points, she is currently seventh in career-scoring at the UR, with only four points separating her from sixth place and seven points separating her from fifth place.
For her efforts, Wescott was named University Athletic Association Player of the Week.
“We have a pretty young team, but everyone has been stepping up and we have been working hard and are looking to be strong once again,” senior Megan Damcott said.
Only a few weeks into the season, Rochester is currently ranked No. 8 by http://www.D3Hoops.com.
“To reach our goals, we have to focus on each game individually and work our way to the postseason,” Fish said.
Playing at Elmira, the Yellowjackets had an impressive 74-51 win, led by Wescott with 21 points.
Three other players reached double digits – Fish with 11 points, sophomore Emily Lyons with 13 points, and Graham matched her career high of 16 points. Graham sank four three-pointers for 12 of those points.
With Tuesday night’s victory against Elmira, the Yellowjackets are currently 3-1 as they head to Carnegie Mellon University on Dec. 4.
The next home game is on Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. against William Smith College.
McLean can be reached at amclean@
campustimes.org.
