SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The Skidmore College women's basketball team utilized a dominating 33-10 first half run and held off a charging No. 25 RIT team in the second half of an impressive 59-56 victory, in Liberty League action at the Williamson Sports Center Friday night.
 
Skidmore improves to 4-9 overall and 3-3 in conference play. RIT, ranked 25^th in the latest Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) national rankings, drops its third straight to fall to 8-4 and 3-3.
 
Facing an early 10-0 hole, the Thoroughbreds began its season-best run, clawing back to tie things up at 12 near the end of the first quarter. Down one (13-12) after one, Jessica Centore began the second quarter with a jumper to give Skidmore its first lead. The long-range jumpers started falling from there, as Kate McCarney came off the bench, hitting a 3-pointer to extend its lead to 22-17. Baskets by Taylor Ong and Meera Ratté would extend the lead to 10 (30-20), before McCarney capped the first half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from deep, as Skidmore took a 33-20 lead into the half.
 
RIT fought back to threaten things in the second half, but Skidmore held the Tigers at bay with crucial baskets by McCarney and solid second-chance buckets by Clare Driscoll and Ong. RIT made its final push late, trailing 52-50 after a Brooke Stanley layup with 3:54 to go. Centore would score on a pair of crucial layups to push the lead back to six, before RIT went on a 6-2 spurt to once again trail by just two with 29 seconds remaining in regulation.
 
It was a wild final 14 seconds of regulation. On Skidmore's next possession, McCarney would make the first free throw to extend Skidmore's lead to three, but would miss the second. Ong fought through the traffic and grabbed the offensive rebound, and she was fouled with 12 seconds to go. Ong would miss both, and RIT's Tara Lynch was fouled on the rebound, sending the senior to the line for two. Lynch missed both free throws, but Sabrina Wolfe grabbed the offensive board to keep the Tigers alive. RIT would have two looks from beyond the arc in the final seven seconds, but both fell short as Skidmore held off the Tigers in the upset.
 
Skidmore got a big offensive contribution from McCarney, who exploded for a career-high 20 points off the bench, going 7 of 10 from the field and 4 of 7 from 3-point range. Ong came up big in the paint, scoring 16 points and grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds (six offensive) for her second double-double of the season. It's her fourth double-digit rebound game of the season and second in as many games. Centore added 10 points, five assists, and three rebounds. The Thoroughbreds grabbed 16 offensive rebounds in the game, converting that into 17 second-chance points.
 
Wolfe led RIT with 21 points, while Stanley added 20 points and four steals. Skidmore held RIT to 30.8 percent (20 of 65) shooting from the field and 22.7 percent (5 of 22) from the 3-point line.
 
Skidmore completes the weekend with a visit from William Smith on Saturday at 2 p.m. RIT will head down to Vassar Saturday, also at 2 p.m.