UTICA, N.Y. – Russell Sage College claimed a spot in the Empire 8 Conference Tournament with this afternoon's 73-60 win at Utica.
The Gators (9-13/7-6 E8), now winners of six of their last seven, used a 27-point second quarter and a 21-point fourth to pull out the road victory.
RSC, heading to the E8 playoffs for the fifth time, was led by a stellar performance from junior guard Layla Acosta (Haines City, FL/Haines City), who shot 8-of-14 from the field and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe on the way to a game-high 26 points.
Three other Gators found themselves in double-digits, as senior guard Malena Gereau (Schroon Lake, NY/Schroon Lake Central) registered 15, sophomore forward Danielle Waldron (Cayuga, NY/Union Springs) tallied eleven, and sophomore forward Kallie Hopkins (Millsboro, DE/Poly Tech) added ten. All three also grabbed at least five rebounds in the victory, as Hopkins secured eight, Gereau grabbed six, and Waldron brought down five off the bench.
Junior forward Emily Zeh (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) secured a game-high ten rebounds, while senior guard Lauren Sanderson (Ravena, NY/Ravena-Coyemans-Selkirk) recorded eight points and added a block in the playoff-clinching effort.
"I'm incredibly proud of this group for the growth they have shown throughout the season," shared Head Coach Michael Branche following the victory. "It's been a season of learning and growing that has led to some really special moments. Winning is great and making the playoffs is awesome, but the development of this group on and off the court has been something that I'll remember for the rest of my career."
Utica (3-19/1-12 E8), now on a six-game slide, was led by forward Vanessa Hall, who scored 21 points in the loss.
Looking ahead, RSC is back in action next Friday as they travel to Rochester for a battle with Nazareth.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: Branche is in his first season 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…Senior guard Olivia Huneau (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes), Sanderson, and Gereau were voted captains of the team...Acosta averaged 20.3 points on 45.8 percent shooting to help RSC go 3-0 this week...She made 38.1 percent of her three-point attempts and totaled 15 rebounds, six steals, and five assists across the three games.
