It was a short turnaround for both teams. Amherst lost an overtime decision to Washington (Mo.) on Friday night which delayed the start of Rochester’s game vs. Hope. Then the Yellowjacket game was halted early in the second half due to a small power outage.

Neither team shot the ball particularly well. Rochester missed its first 10 shots from the floor and fell behind 11-0 after four minutes. For the game, Rochester hit 18% from the floor (11 of 60) while Amherst shot 29%, hitting 18 of 62.

“The legs weren’t there in the beginning,” said Melissa Alwardt. “You can see that by the shooting percentage.”

Alwardt posted a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. She hit 4 of 7 outside the arc and sank nine three pointers in the two Final Four games. Kate Agan(Elmira Lady Express) had five points but scrapped for 10 rebounds. Amy Woods, saddled with some foul trouble, had six points and six boards. Rochester narrowly won the battle of the boards, 51-50.

“I feared the game would deteriorate into what happened, with both teams struggling to score,” said Rochester coach Jim Scheible. “We got a lot of inside looks. We just didn’t finish.”

Amherst was led by Lem Atanga-McCormick. She had 13 points and eight rebounds. Sarah Leyman had 10 points and seven rebounds. Marcia Voight scored 10 points.

Amherst led, 17-4, after eight minutes. Rochester went on a 14-4 spree over the next four minutes. Alwardt sank two three-point goals in the run. When she hit one from left wing, it brought the Yellowjackets within 21-18 and forced Amherst to call a timeout to re-organize.

The Lord Jeffs did. They closed the first half with a 10-2 run and led, 32-21, at halftime.

“I was excited about the way my team responded,” said Amherst coach G.P. Gromacki. “We showed a lot about our character. We ran off an 11-0 run to start the game and took control.”