ROCHESTER, N.Y. - Russell Sage College saw its season come to a close with this afternoon's 71=48 loss at Nazareth in the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament Quarterfinals.
The fourth-seeded Golden Flyers outscored RSC 59-35 during the final three quarters, including 35-21 after halftime, to advance to Wednesday's Semifinals.
Senior guard Malena Gereau (Schroon Lake, NY/Schroon Lake Central) topped the Gators (11-15), the five seed, with 14 points.
Senior guard Lauren Sanderson (Ravena, NY/Ravena-Coyemans-Selkirk) and sophomore forward Kallie Hopkins (Millsboro, DE/Poly Tech) added nine points apiece. Hopkins, who entered the postseason ranked fifth in the E8 in rebounding, tallied four steals and three boards, while Sanderson grabbed four rebounds.
Junior guard Layla Acosta (Haines City, FL/Haines City) contributed eight points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Playing at Nazareth for the second-time in eight days, the Gators shot well to start the matinee, making six of their first 13 attempts to hold a 13-12 advantage after the opening period.
The Golden Flyers (20-6) began to take control with a 12-4 second quarter run to head into the break up 36-27. Trailing by six midway through the third, RSC (11-15) saw the hosts begin to pull away with an 11-3 run to close the period.
Nazareth had four players score in double figures. Sophomore guard Madalyn Kelly had 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting to lead the victors.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: With a February 8 win at Utica, the Gators clinched their fifth appearance in the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament…RSC finished the regular season by winning eight of its final ten games to secure a playoff berth…The season marked 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 finished the regular season with seven of its last eight games away from home…Gereau, Acosta, and Sanderson headline the returning Gators…Acosta was announced as the Empire 8 Conference Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, February 9…She averaged 20.3 points on 45.8 percent shooting to help RSC clinch a spot in the E8 playoffs with a 3-0 week...The junior commenced the week ranked eighth in the Conference in scoring at 13.9 points per-game…She began the week leading the E8 in free throw percentage…Hopkins started the weekend leading RSC in rebounding a 7.9, good for fifth in E8…Senior guard Olivia Huneau (Cohoes, NY/Cohoes), Sanderson, and Gereau were voted captains of the team.
