University of Rochester women's basketball kept things rolling to start their 2022-23 season, topping the 21st-ranked Messiah University Falcons, 57-44, on Saturday at the Louis Alexander Palestra to take home their second straight Chuck Resler Tournament Championship.
 
For their efforts over the 'Jackets' two wins, Callie McCulley was named the Tournament MVP, while Katie Titus garnered All-Tournament honors.
 
Alexis Sestric got the Yellowjackets started with her driving layup 16 seconds into the opening quarter, as UR built an early, 6-0 lead on layups by Sestric, Titus and Maura Leverone.
 
Reese Harden then got the Falcons on the scoreboard after nearly two and a half minutes of scoreless basketball for Messiah, knocking back-to-back triples to even the score at 6-6 with 7:04 to play in the first.
 
That would be as close as the Falcons would get the rest of the way, as UR answered with a 12-2 run, kicked off by a pair of Abby Gress free throws and capped off by Kelsey Stites' driving layup with 1:53 left in the first to give Rochester an 18-8 lead.
 
Charlotte Milanesi's layup slowed the 'Jackets' run, cutting the lead down to eight, but Paige Gaynier answered with a corner three off Stites' assist to give Rochester a 21-10 lead at the end of the first.
 
Rochester shot 66.7 percent (8-for-12) in the first period while holding the Falcons to just 23.5 percent (4-for-17) from the floor.
 
And while Harden opened the second quarter with a three to bring UR's lead back down to eight, Sestric responded with a three of her own on the other end, and then Titus scored five-straight points of her own, putting the 'Jackets up 28-13 with 7:13 to play in the first half.
 
Messiah would again cut the Yellowjackets' lead down to single digits, but Rochester's two all-tournament honorees gave UR a 35-21 lead with seven points down the stretch, before Milanesi's layup made it a 35-23 halftime lead.
 
Rochester then put the clamps on defense in the third, holding the Falcons to just six points and 18.8 percent shooting in the period.
 
McCulley and Titus brought UR's lead out to 17, 42-25, on McCulley's made free throw with 4:59 left in the third following four points from Titus, while Haley Dumiak's hook shot made it a 45-29 game headed to the fourth.
 
And while the Falcons made a bit of a run, closing the gap to 11 with three minutes to play, Leverone answered with a three and the Yellowjackets finished off a 57-44 victory to claim their second-straight Resler Tournament Championship.

Rochester moves to 2-0 with the win, while the 21st-ranked Falcons drop to 1-1 with the loss.
 
Titus led UR with her first 20-point game as a Yellowjacket, tallying her second-straight double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while McCulley also notched a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards.
 
Gress led Rochester with 13 rebounds, while McCulley again led the Yellowjackets defensively with four boards.

As a team, the 'Jackets shot 44.7 percent and held Messiah to just 26.6 percent shooting, outrebounding the Falcons, 48-30.
 
The Yellowjackets next host St. John Fisher University on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. as part of the Marks Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout at the Louis Alexander Palestra.