ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Jodie Luther scored 11 points to lead four Rochester double-figure scorers as the host Yellowjackets defeated Cortland, 66-47, in the opening round of the NCAA Div. III playoffs. Rochester (20-6) will face Mary Washington University (Va.) (an 84-53 winner over William Paterson) in the second round Saturday at 7 p.m., while Cortland ends its season with a 25-4 record. The Red Dragons were making their 10th NCAA tournament appearance overall and fourth in five years.
Caroline Bernal-Silva, Melissa Alwardt and Madeline Korber each finished with 10 points for Rochester. Alwardt also led the team with eight rebounds.
Senior Jessica Laing (Bloomville/South Kortright) led all players with 20 points and nine rebounds in her final collegiate contest. Sophomore Micki Volpini (Newfield) added seven points and three assists, junior Jennifer Patten (Bainbridge/Bainbridge-Guilford) finished with six points and eight rebounds and sophomore Allyson Biordi (Beacon) recorded six points, seven rebounds and four steals.
Laing finished her standout Red Dragon career with 2,166 points and 1,305 rebounds. She ranks 21st in NCAA Division III history in career scoring and 15th in career rebounding. She also started all 117 games during her four years at Cortland, breaking the school record for consecutive starts of 116 set by former teammate Ali Canale from 2005-09.
Cortland struggled with its shooting touch the entire contest. The Red Dragons made only 23 percent of its field goals, including only 20 percent (4-of-20) from three-point range, and hit only 59 percent from the foul line. Rochester shot 40 percent from the floor.
"We couldn't put the ball in the basket," said Cortland coach Jeannette Mosher. "It's easy to get frustrated."
Laing’s three-point play tied the game at 5-5 with 15:57 left in the first half, but the Red Dragons didn’t make another field goal for more than seven minutes. Rochester went on a 14-1 run during that stretch and led 19-6 with 9:41 left. Jamie Piperato (Thiells/North Rockland) made a layup with 8:38 left to end Cortland’s field goal drought, but the Red Dragons were never able to cut their deficit to single digits the rest of the night.
Rochester led 31-20 at halftime and opened the second half on a 10-2 run over the first 4:45 of the second half. The Yellowjackets’ lead fluctuated between 15 and 22 points after that.
Box Score/Play-by-Play