ALBANY, NY - The Alfred University women's basketball split their regular season series with Russell Sage College following a 72-52 loss on Friday evening from the Kahl Campus Center.
The Saxons (10-9, 5-8 Empire 8) picked up 37 rebounds, while the defense limited the Gators (12-7, 8-4 Empire 8) to 17.6 percent from 3-point range.
Alfred University was led by the efforts of
Leah Harkenrider (Hornell, NY/Hornell), who finished the game with 12 points to go with five rebounds, one block and one steal.
Gillian Flint (Caledonia, NY/Caledonia-Mumford) totaled 11 points and six boards.
Allison O'Toole (Simi Valley, CA/Simi Valley) added eight points, five rebounds and five assists for AU.
"Russell Sage did a better job guarding the ball today early and we struggled to score coming out of the gate," Head Coach
Mike Moskowitz said. "They were physical with us and disrupted our timing on cuts, but we made some nice adjustments as the game went that got us better looks."
The Gators were able to take control early thanks to an opening 7-0 run in the first quarter. Harkenrider was the first to score for the Saxons. Deep shots from O'Toole and Rittenhouse tied the game with under five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Russell Sage ended the first quarter on an 8-0 run, leaving Alfred University trailing 17-9. The Saxons continued to rely on the 3-point shot, as
Mackenzie Cannon (Odessa, NY/Odessa Montour) and Harkenrider cut the deficit to five points with seven minutes remaining in the half. The Gators were able to once again extend their lead before going into halftime with a 35-20 advantage.
Karly Welty (Portville, NY/Portville Central) sparked AU's offense in the second half by scoring the first four points. Flint added five points of her own in the third quarter, but the Saxons were still behind 54-36 going into the final quarter. Five different members of Alfred University scored in the fourth quarter, but the Gators continued to find open shots to hold on for the win.
"I'm proud of this group for playing their tails off this evening and we know we'll be ready to go tomorrow against a tough Hartwick team," Moskowitz said.
Alfred University will next remain on the road when they face Hartwick College on Saturday at 2:00 PM.
