BOSTON - Despite a strong run in the Emmanuel College Tip-Off Tournaments of seasons past, the Emmanuel women's basketball program was unable to defend last year's championship, falling to the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers, 61-50, on Sunday afternoon on Yosinoff Court in the Tip-Off Championship Game. RIT improves to 3-1 on the season after claiming the EC Tip-Off crown. The Saints drop to 1-1 to start their season.

After a back-and-forth first half saw the Saints head into the break with a 26-24 lead, a pivotal third quarter broke open the game as the Tigers outscored the Saints 22-4 over the 10-minute frame.

An 8-0 run opened the quarter for RIT, including five points for Caroline Henderson and three points for Erin DiPaola, lifting the Tigers to a six-point lead. A matching 8-0 surge to close out the quarter for the visitors, including a pair of made three-point shots by Hannah Durand, saw the Tigers take their largest lead of the night, 46-30, through three quarters.

The Saints made a charge in the fourth with their eyes set on winning the EC Tip-Off Tournament. With 8:06 to go and the Tigers still leading by 16, the Saints made their move, going on a 13-1 scoring run to cut the deficit to 51-47 with 4:18 remaining. Five different Saints scored in the run, including four points each by senior Megan Reilly and sophomore Lia Krumian. 

Emmanuel would only get as close as four, as the final spurt of the night belonged to RIT, who closed the night on a 10-3 run, including six points by the tournament MVP, Maddy Ramsgard, as the Tigers held off the Saints, 61-50.

Henderson finished the night with a game-high 22 points, including 5-for-11 shooting from three-point distance. Ramsgard added 14 points and 12 rebounds in her MVP performance. After shooting 32.1 percent in the opening half, RIT shot 57.1 percent in the second half, including 44.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Saints junior Geanna Bryant had a team-high 11 points and game-high five steals. First-year Nylah Mitchell added 10 points in 22 minutes on 5-of-9 from the field. 

The Saints are back in action on Tuesday, Nov. 18, as they head to MIT for a 7:00 p.m. game in non-conference play. The Tigers have nearly a week off before they face Genesco on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 2:00 p.m., as the fifth game of an eight-game road trip to start the season.