CHICAGO, IL – University of Rochester women's basketball came back from down by as many as 16 points, outscoring the University of Chicago, 21-4, in the final frame to defeat the Maroons, 54-53, on Sunday afternoon inside the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center.
 
UChicago took its largest lead of the afternoon, 49-33, at the end of the third, as Kate Gross' jumper capped off a 17-point third. The Maroons more than doubled up UR, 21-10 in the second quarter to take a 13-point lead at the halftime break and outscored the 'Jackets by three in the third, to lead by 16 headed to the fourth.
 
However, after shooting just 37.5 percent through the first three frames, the Yellowjackets got hot and locked down on defense to start the fourth. Trailing by 16 to start the period, Annelise Dexter got the Yellowjackets rolling with two free throws, while Abby Gress knocked down a three, one of three 'Jacket triples in the fourth quarter, to cut the Maroons' lead down to 11, 49-38, with just over nine minutes left.
 
Four more free throws, two from Gress and two from Deniz Alparslan made it a seven-point game, before another bucket from Gress and Franki Gomez's three pulled the Yellowjackets within two, 49-47, just past the four-minute mark of the fourth.
 
Rochester outscored the Maroons, 14-0, to start the fourth, holding UChicago without a bucket for nearly seven minutes. UChicago shot 0-for-4 from the floor and turned it over six times over that stretch, as the Yellowjackets' full-court press helped make it a two-point game.
 
Offensively, UR shot 50 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three (3-for-6) in the fourth quarter, led by seven points apiece from Gress and Lillis.
 
Gross finally got the home side back on the scoreboard with 3:12 remaining, answering Gomez's three with a jumper to put Chicago back up four. But Erin Lillis answered right back on UR's ensuing possession, sinking a three from the top of the arc to make it a one-point game with 2:53 left.
 
Just past the two-minute mark, the Maroons broke UR's full-court press and found Sophia North for an easy two, stretching UChicago's lead to three, 53-50, but again Rochester quickly answered and again by way of a Lillis jumper, cutting the Maroons' lead back to one with 1:35 left.
 
A miss on the other end then gave Rochester a chance to take the lead, and out of a timeout, Lillis did just that, with a strong drive to the hoop for two, for what would prove to be the last points of the contest, putting the Yellowjackets up one, 54-53, with 45 seconds to play.
 
The Maroons then turned it over, giving the ball right back to UR with just over a 10-second differential between the shot clock and game clock. And though Gress' jumper with the shot clock expiring missed, Chicago couldn't get a shot off before the final buzzer, and the 'Jackets finished off the 54-53 victory.
 
Both the 'Jackets and Maroons got off to a slow start to start the first, with just 20 combined points in the opening period. The two sides traded runs for much of the period, with Chicago scoring the first five points of the contest, before UR answered back with seven-in-a-row.
 
North broke the seal for the Maroons with an early triple, while Alpaslan's steal and fastbreak layup got Rochester on the scoreboard just shy of the eight-minute mark of the first. Grace Corelli's three-pointer then tied the game at five, before Gress gave UR its first lead of the afternoon with a jumper with 4:31 left in the first.
 
The Maroons would quickly retake the lead with a 6-0 run of their own, before Macy Bacon would send the two sides into the second separated by just two points, with her layup with 2:27 to play in the period.
 
UR would keep things close through much of the early goings of the second, with Lillis' triple making it a one-point game, 18-17, with 6:16 until the halftime buzzer. But that'd be Rochester's last field goal for the rest of the period, as UChicago ended the first half on a 14-2 run knocking down three treys to take a 13-point lead at the halftime break.
 
Rochester would get as close as 10 in the third, before UChicago stretched its lead out to its largest of the afternoon, 49-33, headed to the fourth, where UR would make its comeback and eventually finish off a one-point win.
 
With the win, Rochester moves back to .500 at 12-12 (5-8 UAA) on the year, while the Maroons drop to 14-10 (4-9 UAA) with the loss.
 
Lillis led all scorers with 14 points, while Gress tallied 13 points to go along with a team-high six rebounds and four steals. Gomez led the 'Jackets with a season-high five assists, while Gress contributed four.
 
As a team, Rochester shot 33.3 percent (18-for-54) for the contest, 35.3 percent (6-for-17) from three and 12-for-17 from the free-throw line, while Chicago shot 44.9 percent (22-for-49), 36.8 percent (7-for-19) from three-point range and 2-for-4 from the line.
 
Despite being outrebounded, 30-24, the Yellowjackets forced 19 turnovers and scored 18 points off those 19 giveaways.
 
The Yellowjackets will wrap up the 2024-25 campaign at home with their Senior Day matchup against Emory on Saturday, March 1 at 2:00 p.m. inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.