PITTSFORD, NY – Behind a dominant showing in the second quarter, the University of Rochester women's basketball picked up its first win of the year, defeating the St. John Fisher University Cardinals, 67-43, on Friday evening to open the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout inside Manning & Napier Varsity Gym.
 
Trailing at the end of the first, URochester clamped down on defense, forcing 11 turnovers over the next 10 minutes, and shot a blistering 12-for-22 from the floor to turn a four-point deficit into a 13-point lead at the halftime break.
 
The Yellowjackets outscored St. John Fisher, 26-9, in the second quarter, scoring the first seven points of the stanza before the Cardinals got back on the scoreboard, before opening a double-digit lead with a 9-0 run.
 
Franki Gomez knocked down a triple to open the quarter, pulling URochester within a point, 16-15, 22 seconds in, while layups by Annelise Dexter and Claire Groenewoud gave the 'Jackets their first lead of the night.
 
Four different Yellowjackets then scored over the 9-0 run, beginning with Melis Alparslan's layup at the 7:20 mark, and capped off by Gomez's layup from Deniz Alparslan with 5:40 until the halftime buzzer.  
 
Rochester forced a trio of turnovers over the 9-0 run, and after five points from the Cardinals cut the lead back down to single digits, the 'Jackets would end the half on a 10-2 run to take a 13-point, 38-25, lead at the halftime break.
 
Tia Poulakidas got the scoring start a little over a minute-and-a-half into the third, as Rochester kept on rolling, outscoring St. John Fisher, 18-11, in the third and 11-7 in the fourth. The 'Jackets opened the second half on a 6-0 run before the Cardinals broke the seal, while Melis Alparslan's triple just past the five-minute mark of the third gave URochester a 20-point advantage.
 
The 'Jackets would lead by 20 at the end of the third, and stretched their lead out to its largest of the night, 28, on Peyton Jones' layup with 1:17 left in the fourth. Rochester forced another five turnovers in the third and seven in the fourth, tallying 24 steals, the second-most in a single game in program history.
 
Jones and Dexter made it a 24-point game to start the fourth, extending Rochester's lead to 60-36 with 7:01 remaining, while the Cardinals would add four points late to cut the final deficit to 24, 67-43.
 
St. John Fisher got the scoring started in the opening period, scoring the first five points of the contest before Groenewoud got UR on the scoreboard, tying the score at five-all with a jumper and three.
 
The Cardinals led by four, 11-7, with 4:53 left in the first following Presleigh Brunner's layup, but four-straight points from Macy Bacon would again tie the score, this time at 11-all, before Hannah Ferguson's three and Valerosa Gambitta's layup, as well as a free throw from Groenewoud, made it a 16-12 Fisher lead at the end of the first.
 
With the win, Rochester moves to 1-3 on the year, while the Cardinals drop to 1-4.
 
Dexter led URochester with 11 points, while Groenewoud added 10 and a team-high three assists. Grace Corelli led Rochester on the glass with seven rebounds, while Hazell Nickerson had a team-high five steals, with five different Yellowjackets notching at least three takeaways.
 
Rochester shot 43.3 percent for the contest, 3-for-20 from three and 6-for-11 from the foul line, compared to 37.0 percent for St. John Fisher, 5-for-14 from distance and 4-of-12 from the free-throw line.
 
The Yellowjackets also scored 28 points off 32 Cardinal turnovers, and dominated St. John Fisher in the paint, 40-20.
 
URochester will wrap up the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout on Saturday, Nov. 21, with a neutral-site matchup against Nazareth University in Pittsford, NY, at 3:00 p.m.