In a matchup between two of the top Division III teams in New York State, the 21st-ranked University of Rochester women's basketball team topped 17th-ranked Ithaca College by an 83-66 score on Wednesday evening in the Louis Alexander Palestra.
 
Rochester (7-1) picks up the key regional win behind the scoring prowess of three starters, Katie Titus, Alexis Sestric and Callie McCulley.
 
The trio combined for 70 of Rochester's 83 points, led by Titus who poured in 33 points. She added 11 rebounds for her third double-double of the 2022-23 season. Sestric scored 22 points, one shy of her career-high, and drained six 3-pointers on the night. McCulley finished with 15 points and nine boards.
 
Titus' 30-point outburst is the first by a Yellowjacket player since Lauren Deming back in early 2018 against NYU.
 
Natalie Smith who had 17 points and Cara Volpe who scored 16 points with five rebounds led Ithaca (6-2) in the box score. Both players also dished out four assists in the loss.
 
The opening quarter was a back-and-forth period that ended in high-scoring fashion, as Rochester held a 23-22 lead.
 

A pair of three's from Smith and Volpe allowed the Bombers to jump out early 8-2, but seven straight points, including five from McCulley gave the Yellowjackets their first lead of the game at 9-8.
 
In the second quarter, Sestric came up big nailing three straight triples on three consecutive possessions to lift Rochester out to a 36-31 lead.
 
Later in the period, Rochester ran its offense through Titus in the paint, as she scored nine points in an 11-4 UR run to close the half, giving the Yellowjackets a 48-38 lead at the break.
 
The Yellowjackets kept the momentum going into the early part of the third quarter. Rochester built its lead out to 19 following an 11-2 stretch over the opening 4:19 of the second half. Titus scored four to open the run, Sestric chipped in a 3-pointer and two free throws and McCulley finished it off with a driving layup in the paint.
 
Rochester lead got as big as 24 with four minutes left in the third following a Titus basket inside.
 
Ithaca showed its mettle on both ends of the floor over the next eight minutes of game time, spanning the third and fourth quarters, holding Rochester without a point and trimmed the lead to ten following a 14-0 run.
 
Volpe led the Bombers in the stretch with ten points, while Emily Dorn and Zoraida Icabalceta chipped in baskets.
 
After a timeout with five and half minutes remaining, Maura Leverone found Titus open on the wing following an inbounds play for a big 3-pointer, stopping the spurt and building the Rochester lead back to 13. The assist was one of seven on the night for UR's point guard.
 
The teams traded baskets over the next couple of minutes but the Rochester lead stayed in double-digits before an 8-0 stretch put the game out of reach. Sestric hit another triple and Leverone finished it off with a twisting layup in the lane.
 
Kelsey Stites chipped in five points and four assists as the leading scorer of the Yellowjacket bench.
 
Overall, Rochester shot 48% (29-61) in the game, 43% (9-21) from distance and 73% (16-22) from the free throw line. All three totals bested the Bombers, as Ithaca shot 42% (26-65) overall, 31% (5-16) from 3-point land and 58% (7-12) from the charity stripe.
 
The Yellowjackets wrap up the 2022 calendar year with two more road contests in the next week. UR plays at SUNY Brockport on Saturday at 2 pm before traveling to Buffalo State next Tuesday at 6:30 pm.