Rochester, N.Y. – The Geneseo women’s basketball team (4-1) extended seven-time defending tournament champion Rochester (5-1) to the final buzzer before the host Yellowjackets emerged with a 60-58 win in the Wendy’s College Classic final Saturday.

Rochester’s winning points came on a three-point basket with four seconds left in regulation; the Yellowjackets forced a Geneseo turnover before the Blue Knights could get off a final shot.

The Yellowjackets were playing in the tournament final for the 11th year in a row. Geneseo made its third appearance in the title game.

The Yellowjackets rallied from a 15-point deficit, taking their first lead with just under seven minutes to go. They pushed their lead to four points with 3:17 left in regulation; Geneseo responded with five straight points as senior guard Melissa Graham (Orchard Park/Mount Mercy) converted two free throws and hit a three-point basket. Following Graham’s go-ahead bucket with 58 seconds left, both teams missed a shot before Rochester’s game-winning three pointer.

Graham scored a game-high 17 points and led Geneseo with four assists and three steals while pulling down five rebounds. Sophomore forward Shannon McGinnis (Walworth/Gananda) recorded her second stgraight double-double, collecting 13 points and a team-best 10 rebounds. Both were first-team selections to the all-tournament team.

Sophomore forward Katie Peterson (Ithaca/Ithaca) contributed nine points and three assists off the bench and first year guard Dana Cohan (Rochester/Greece Athena) added seven points.

The Blue Knights open State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play Tuesday, hosting Cortland in a 6 p.m. game.

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