ST MARYS CITY, MD – Russell Sage College Women's Basketball wrapped up their weekend trip in Maryland with a battle against St. Mary's College on Saturday afternoon, falling in a back and forth battle 83-79.
The Gators (1-3), who trailed 42-35 at the half, outscored the Seahawks (3-3) 28-15 in the third quarter to hold a six point advantage entering the final ten minutes. RSC increased their advantage to twelve with just six minutes to play, before St. Mary's attacked with a 15-2 run in just over four minutes that gave them a lead that they would not relinquish to secure the non-conference victory.
RSC had four scorers in double-digits, headlined by the first 20 point game of the season from guard Layla Acosta (Haines City, FL/Haines City) who drilled three three-pointers and went a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe in the effort. The junior also grabbed five rebounds and recorded a steal to fill the statsheet.
Senior guard Olivia Huneau (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes) recorded a season-high 17 points, grabbed three rebounds and registered a game-high four assists. Sophomore forward Kallie Hopkins (Millsboro, DE/Poly Tech) registered a near double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds, while senior guard Malena Gereau (Schroon Lake, NY/Schroon Lake Central) was the fourth Gator in double-digits with thirteen points on a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line.
St. Mary's had three with 20 or more points in the victory.
Looking ahead, RSC has some time off before they return to the court on December 12 for their final contest of 2024 against SUNY Cobleskill.
Gator Bites: The season marks the first with Michael Branche as the Head Coach of RSC Women's Basketball…He had been an assistant women's basketball coach since July 2020…12 players, making up just shy of 94 percent of the team scoring return for the Gators…The dozen combine with five newcomers on this year's squad…Junior guard Layla Acosta (Haines City, FL/Haines City), and junior forward Aniyah Kelley (New Castle, DE/William Penn), and senior guard Lauren Sanderson (Ravena, NY/Ravena-Coyemans-Selkirk) headline the returning Gators…Senior guard Olivia Huneau (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes), Sanderson, and senior guard Malena Gereau (Schroon Lake, NY/Schroon Lake Central) were voted captains of the team...Hopkins averaged 10 points on 58.3 percent shooting, nine rebounds, four steals and 1.5 assists this weekend.
