ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College used a big second half to secure a 51-37 Empire 8 Conference victory against visiting SUNY Poly this evening.
The Gators, now winners of five of their last six games, shot 44.4 percent in the third and four periods and netted 34 of the final 57 points. RSC, up by as many as 21, used a 12-2 third quarter run to take control of the contest. The Gators only trailed for 15 seconds in the "Senior Night" victory.
Junior Layla Acosta (Haines City, FL/Haines City) led all players with 19 points on 50.0 percent shooting. The guard, who had 17 of her points in the second half, registered five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Senior guard Malena Gereau (Schroon Lake, NY/Schroon Lake Central), one of the four Gators that were honored before the game as part of the "Senior Night" ceremony, and sophomore forward Kallie Hopkins (Millsboro, DE/Poly Tech) added 10 points each. Hopkins topped RSC with eight rebounds.
Sophomore guard Alysa Jackson paced SUNY Poly (3-18/2-10 E8) with 10 points.
Looking ahead, RSC (8-13/6-6 E8) plays next tomorrow at Utica. Start time is set for 2:00 PM.
Senior Night: Before the contest, Russell Sage College Athletics honored four student-athletes: guard Angelina Schaefer (Latham, NY/Shaker), guard Olivia Huneau (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes), Gereau, and guard Lauren Sanderson (Ravena, NY/Ravena-Coyemans-Selkirk) for their contributions to the women's basketball program.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: 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 returned for the Gators…The dozen combine with five newcomers on this year's squad…RSC finishes the regular season with seven of its last eight games away from home…Acosta, junior forward Aniyah Kelley (New Castle, DE/William Penn), and Sanderson headline the returning Gators…Gereau and Acosta entered the weekend leading RSC in scoring at 11.6 points per-game…Acosta began the day leading the Empire 8 Conference in free throw percentage…Huneau, Sanderson, and Gereau were voted captains of the team.
