ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University women's basketball team narrowly lost in a thrilling overtime game to Russell Sage College by a score of 76-69 on Friday night at Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.
The Saxons (8-13, 4-9 Empire 8) were able to send the game into overtime and almost won on a buzzer beating shot to end regulation, after being down by 11 points going into half time.
Grace Rittenhouse (Dansville, NY/Dansville) led the Saxons in scoring with a career high 30 points and 13 rebounds for a monster double-double. Jessica Beehler (Dunkirk, NY/Dunkirk) was second on the team in points with 14 points, four rebounds, two steals, and an assist. Jaidyn Chest (Mayfield, NY/Mayfield) had 12 points, six rebounds, four steals, and four assists on the night as well. Leah Harkenrider (Hornell, NY/Hornell) was right behind with 10 points, along with three steals, two rebounds, and two assists.
"Credit to Sage tonight, they played really well and shot it well in the first half." Head Coach Mike Moskowitz said. "Getting down 14 at home in the first half is tough. Proud of our fight to give ourselves opportunities to win, we unfortunately ran out of gas and didn't get some solid looks to drop late in regulation and overtime."
The Saxons made a big run in the third quarter and cut into the 11-point deficit to make it a one possession game heading to the fourth. Both teams traded baskets until a Grace Rittenhouse 3-pointer sent the home crowd into a frenzy, giving the Saxons a 66-63 lead with 1:13 to play. This put Rittenhouse over the 30-point mark for the first time in her career at Alfred. Sage quickly answered with a 3-pointer of their own to tie the game at 66. Rittenhouse had the chance to win it for the Saxons at the buzzer as the ball bounced on the rim twice before flipping over the outside to send the game to OT. In the end, the Gators pulled away and won the game in overtime, but the Saxons put up a great fight.
"We'll be ready to keep fighting tomorrow vs Hartwick." Moskowitz said
Alfred University returns to action tomorrow for the second half of their weekend games on Saturday, February 10th against Hartwick College, with the tip-off scheduled for 2:00 PM.
