HOUGHTON, NY – A second half effort from the Alfred University women's basketball team resulted in a 61-47 win over Houghton College on Saturday afternoon from the Nielsen Center.

The Saxons (8-10, 3-6 Empire 8) won the rebound battle over the Highlanders (7-11, 1-8 Empire 8) by a 45-39 margin; 24 of which came on the offensive end.

Leah Harkenrider (Hornell, NY/Hornell) led the Saxons with a team-high 13 points and four rebounds. Gillian Flint (Caledonia, NY/Caledonia-Mumford) ended the game with 11 points, nine boards and four assists. Ana Ion (Bucharest, Romania/Episcopal School of Jacksonville) finished with 10 points and six rebounds.

"I was pleased with how we stayed patient with our gameplan and didn't panic when shots weren't falling in the first half," Head Coach Mike Moskowitz said. "We took more pride in guarding the ball one-on-one in the second half and that forced some tougher shots from Houghton, allowing us to string together stops and get out and run in transition."

Rebecca Jewett (Nyack, NY/Nyack) set the pace for the Saxons offense early on, scoring the team's first five points in the opening quarter. A three-point shot from Briana Broadwell (Franklinville, NY/Ten Broeck Academy) was followed by a pair of successful free throws from Allison O'Toole (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley), as AU extended their lead to four points. The Highlanders ended the first quarter on a 6-0 run, as the Saxons trailed 14-12 entering the second quarter. A three-point shot from Harkenrider had Alfred down by one point with 7:59 remaining in the first half. Houghton continued to shoot well throughout the second quarter, but another three-point shot from Harkenrider before halftime resulted in Alfred trailing 28-23 at the break.

Jewett provided the Saxons offense with momentum once again, hitting a three-point shot in the opening seconds of the third quarter. Four consecutive points from Flint moments later had the Saxons trailing by just one point. A three-point shot from Broadwell with 3:40 remaining in the third quarter gave AU their first lead of the half. O'Toole hit a three-point shot with 42 seconds left in the third quarter to extend the lead to six points. Houghton scored once more in the closing seconds, as AU led 44-40 entering the fourth quarter. A three-point shot from Flint was followed by a layup from Ion, as Alfred University led by eight points with 7:39 left in the fourth quarter. A three-point shot from Harkenrider had the Saxons leading by as many as 11 points. Ion scored the team's final four points, holding off any chance at a comeback for Houghton.

"We'll enjoy our day off tomorrow and prepare for the challenging back-to-back against Keuka next week," Moskowitz said.

Alfred University will next return home to face Keuka College on Tuesday with tip-off scheduled for 5:30 PM.