The tournament victory for SU (5-1) comes on the heels of the championship it won in the season opening Lebanon Valley Tournament two weeks ago. RIT (3-1) was seeking to keep its perfect early season record intact.
The Tigers nearly did just that, as they had the final two shots of regulation. With the score tied at 60, RIT missed a jumper with 27 seconds left, got the rebound and decided to hold for the last.
Unfortunately for the visitors, Joanna Dobeck was off with her 10-footer, and the game went into overtime.
Shenandoah won the overtime tip and got a bucket from tournament MVP Stephanie Harrold 12 seconds in to take a lead it would not relinquish. Senior Cassie Womack made a layup after stealing the ball on the Tigers' initial OT possession, and SU was able to control the play for the duration of the contest.
RIT cut it the deficit to two points on two occasions, but the Hornets were able to answer with either a free throw or a made basket on the ensuing trips down the floor.
Shenandoah held the lead for the majority of the contest until the Tigers used a 7-2 run to take their first lead, 46-45, with 9:50 left. The two teams were then tied on six occasions and traded the lead on five others before Harrold's overtime jumper.
Womack joined Harrold on the All-Tournament team, as did Ramata Diallo and Renee Whitmore from RIT and Meredith's Nicole Hall. Diallo had 12 points and 11 boards in the championship contest with Whitmore adding 18 points before fouling out late in regulation.
Womack had 22 rebounds in a 71-51 first-round win over Meredith, and added 10 boards and three steals Sunday afternoon.
SU hosts Trinity (D.C.) on Wednesday at 7:00.
Rochester Inst. of T vs Shenandoah Hornets 12/3/06 3:00 at Shingleton Gymnasium - Winchester, Va. At Shingleton Gymnasium - Winchester, Va. SHENANDOAH HORNETS 69, ROCHESTER INST. OF T 64 ROCHESTER INST. OF T (3-1) Renee Whitmore 6-9 6-6 18; Ramata Diallo 3-4 6-9 12; Christine Rowinski 4-10 1-3 10; Margot Sandy 3-3 0-2 7; Danielle Furman 1-9 4-4 7; Joanna Dobeck 2-8 0-0 4; Jackie Hammond 1-3 0-0 3; Shannon Bean 0-0 2-5 2; Jenna Newberry 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 20-46 20-31 64. SHENANDOAH HORNETS (5-1) HARROLD, Stephanie 7-16 3-4 17; SAMPLES, Valerie 5-14 4-8 15; SANDERS, Alicia 3-10 2-4 10; HARGBOL, Alexis 4-10 2-6 10; FISHER, Dee 2-5 1-2 6; YOUNG, Jessica 2-3 0-0 5; WOMACK, Cassie 1-6 2-4 4; FLINT, Katherine 1-4 0-0 2; DUFFY, Kelly 0-1 0-0 0; KELLY, KneAndra 0-0 0-0 0; FRENCH, Whitney 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 25-75 14-28 69. Rochester Inst. of T.......... 25 35 4 - 64 Shenandoah Hornets............ 31 29 9 - 69 3-point goals--Rochester Inst. of T 4-13 (Christine Rowinski 1-3; Danielle Furman 1-7; Margot Sandy 1-1; Jackie Hammond 1-2), Shenandoah Hornets 5-23 (SANDERS, Alicia 2-5; FISHER, Dee 1-3; SAMPLES, Valerie 1-6; YOUNG, Jessica 1-2; FRENCH, Whitney 0-6; FLINT, Katherine 0-1). Fouled out--Rochester Inst. of T-Renee Whitmore; Joanna Dobeck; Margot Sandy, Shenandoah Hornets-YOUNG, Jessica. Rebounds--Rochester Inst. of T 41 (Ramata Diallo 11), Shenandoah Hornets 47 (HARGBOL, Alexis 11). Assists--Rochester Inst. of T 13 (Ramata Diallo 5), Shenandoah Hornets 15 (SAMPLES, Valerie 6). Total fouls--Rochester Inst. of T 23, Shenandoah Hornets 25. Technical fouls--Rochester Inst. of T-None, Shenandoah Hornets-None. A-258 2006 Shenandoah Shootout Classic Championship. All-Tournament: Nicole Hall, Meredith; Diallo, Whitmore, RIT; Womack, SU. MVP: Harrold, SU.