Gators Start Homestand with Victory
ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Women’s Basketball used a 9-0 fourth quarter run to defeat visiting SUNY Poly 59-55 this evening.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 55 |
|
|
9 | 20 | 13 | 17 | 59 |
Team Stats
SUNY Poly
| Game Statistics | SUNY Poly | Russell Sage College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (19-61) | (23-64) |
| Field Goal % | 31.1% | 35.9% |
| Rebounds | 40 | 46 |
| Assists | 6 | 16 |
| Turnovers | 21 | 23 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 19 | 17 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 4 | 5 |
| Pts in the Paint | 24 | 22 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 4 | 8 |
| Bench Pts | 21 | 15 |
ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Women's Basketball used a 9-0 fourth quarter run to defeat visiting SUNY Poly 59-55 this evening.
The Gators (8-5/3-1 E8), which started a stretch of five-straight home Empire 8 Conference contests tonight, received 10 or more points from four different players.
Senior Aniyah Kelley (New Castle, DE/William Penn) topped RSC with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting. The forward, who knocked down a trio of three-pointers, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.
Junior forward Kallie Hopkins (Millsboro, DE/Poly Tech) also recorded a double-double of 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and a like number of boards.
Sophomore guard Jaileen Soto (Phillipsburg, NJ/Phillipsburg) added 11 points, four assists, and three steals, while senior guard Layla Acosta (Haines City, FL/Haines City), who began the week leading the Conference in points per-game, registered 10 points, three steals, and two assists.
"I was proud of how the group came together late," commented RSC Head Coach Michael Branche. "We leaned on each other down the stretch, stayed connected, and found a way to close out the game as a team."
Junior guard Alysa Jackson paced SUNY Poly (3-9/0-4 E8), now on a four-game slide, with 18 points.
Knotted at 29 at the half and at 42 heading into the final period, a 9-0 run across 4:57 put the Gators up 53-45 with 3:37 left. SUNY Poly trimmed its deficit to two on a pair of occasions within the final 30 seconds, but makes by Soto and Acosta at the line sealed the victory.
Looking ahead, RSC hosts Houghton on Friday evening.
Gator Bites with Papa John's: The 2025-2026 season will mark the second with Branche at the helm…The Gators, coming off a trip to the Quarterfinals of the 2024-2025 Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament, combine eight returners with four newcomers on this year's roster…Acosta and Hopkins highlight the returnees…Acosta, a two-time All-Conference pick, became just the tenth RSC player to surpass 1,000 career points in the home win vs. SUNY Cobleskill on December 1…She entered the evening fifth in program records with 1,103 career points...Mary Leary '83 is fourth with 1,199 career points…Hopkins finished last season ranked fifth in the E8 with a 7.6 rebounding average…Acosta was tabbed the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, November 9…She topped all players with 24 points on 47.3 percent shooting in the season-opening home victory vs. Bard on November 8…Freshman guard Miranda Price (Stillwater, NY/Stillwater) was chosen the E8 Rookie of the Week for the period ending Sunday, November 16…She tallied a game-high 19 points in the home win vs. SUNY Morrisville on November 15…Price went 7-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, in her collegiate debut…Acosta was tabbed an E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, December 7…The guard tallied 26 points on 43.5 percent shooting in the home win vs. SUNY Cobleskill on December 1…The senior commenced the week ranked leading the Conference in scoring at 19.2 points per-game.
