Courtesy of UR Athletics
The UR women’s basketball team won the Wendy’s College Classic on Dec. 1, dominating the competition with three straight victories. The first win came in the quarterfinal round against the Rochester Institute of Technology, on Tuesday, Nov. 27, in Geneva, N.Y. The ’Jackets then went on to beat The College at Brockport and SUNY Geneseo in the semifinals and final rounds on Thursday, Nov. 29 and Saturday, Dec. 3, respectively.
The semifinal match against RIT was a tough battle between cross-town rivals. UR proved from the start that they were a force to be reckoned with, dominating both the court and the scoreboard. The ’Jackets grabbed a total of 28 offensive rebounds to help defeat the RIT Tigers — 80-53.
In the semifinal match against Brockport, the Yellowjackets came out with strong momentum, starting off with a scoring run of 31-4. The ’Jackets built on this momentum throughout the game, walking all over Brockport and earning a 74-34 victory.
This victory earned the ’Jackets a spot in their 11th straight Wendy’s Classic final held on Saturday, Dec. 2, at home against Geneseo.
Unlike the previous two matches, this game was no walk in the park for UR. Geneseo started off strong, consistently leading the scoreboard in the first half. The ’Jackets looked like they were in trouble, with a shooting percentage of only 27 percent in the first 20 minutes.
With seven minutes left on the clock, UR took their first lead of the game after a three-point shot by sophomore guard Blair Landolfi.
The ’Jackets and the Geneseo Blue Knights battled right until the end. With seconds left, it looked like Geneseo would win, with a lead of 58-57. The ’Jackets, however, had other plans.
Junior guard/forward Danielle McNabb sunk a tournament-winning three pointer with 3.3 seconds left on the clock, earning UR the title of Wendy’s Classic Champions and an impressive 5-1 record.
McNabb’s strong performance in the match — 15 points, six rebounds and the game winning shot — led to her being named Most Valuable Player in the classic. Loren Wagner also had a strong game with 12 points and 12 rebounds.
After their strong performances three ’Jackets — Wagner, Zywicki and Mcnabb — were chosen to make up three of the five spots on the First Team All-Wendy’s Classic.
The ’Jackets hope to continue this momentum against SUNY Oneonta on Wednesday, Dec. 5 and Oswego State University on Saturday, Dec. 8.
Cozen is a member of the class of 2015.
