ROCKFORD, Ill. — The Rochester Community and Technical College women’s basketball team fell behind early and never could catch up Friday.
That came in the NJCAA Division III consolation bracket, the Yellowjackets losing 65-50 to Onondaga (N.Y.).
RCTC trailed 31-26 at halftime.
RCTC, which was in the national tournament for the first time since 2009 — when it won it — is now 23-8.
RCTC is the No. 6 seed in the eight-team tournament, Onondaga No. 7.
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The Yellowjackets lost 98-93 in Thursday’s first round to No. 3 seed UConn-Avery.
"(Thursday) night took a lot out of us," RCTC coach Steve Hucke said. "We were still feeling the affects of that game. We just didn’t have the energy today. It’s tough to come back emotionally from a game like that. And we never had our legs underneath us today on our shots."
Nautika Kotero paced RCTC with 13 points on Friday. Olivia Haug had 10 points and 10 rebounds, and Jalysa Cutting had 10 points. The Yellowjackets struggled from the field, hitting just 32 percent of their shots. Onondaga was little better, at 33 percent.
Both sides had trouble hanging onto the basketball. RCTC had 28 turnovers, Onondaga 20.
Onondaga outscored RCTC in every quarter but the second, when each managed eight points.
Hucke still sang the praises of his team.
"Nothing is going to change the way I feel about this team," he said.
RCTC finishes its season at 1 p.m. Saturday, when it plays Rowan at Gloucester County in the seventh-place game.
