Muller hit 10 of 19 from the floor, including one of five outside the arc, and all nine of her free throws. She added six rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot in 33 minutes.
The Yellowjackets, ranked number 3 in the current D3hoops.com Division III poll, improved to 9-0 overall.
Johanna McNelis was the only other Yellowjacket in double figures. She scored 11 points, including three three-pointers.
Margot Sandy scored a career high 25 points to lead RIT. She hit 8 of 16 from the floor, all four of her three-point attempts, and five of eight from the line. She had two assists, two rebounds, two blocked shots, and one steal in 33 minutes. She was the only Tiger to reach double figures.
RIT is 6-2 and had a three-game winning streak snapped. The Tigers are four wins shy of tying their single-season victory record.
Muller’s 30 points surpass her previous career high of 25 set nearly a year ago – on January 22, 2006 in a 73-55 victory over Case Western Reserve University.
The Yellowjackets hit 32.4% from the floor in the first half (11 of 34) while RIT sizzled at 46.4% (13 of 28). The Tigers, led by nine points from Sandy and six apiece from Christine Rowinski and Renee Whitmore, led 33-31 at the break. Whitmore’s jumper just inside the foul line gave RIT the halftime lead only 16 seconds after Jessica Mastronardi sank a long three point goal from right wing to tie it at 31-all for Rochester.
In the second half, RIT edged ahead on a layup and a three-pointer by Sandy, then built it to five when Danielle Furman made one free throw with 9:49 to go (50-45). The Yellowjackets nibbled at the deficit, finally tying it at 54-all on a three-pointer from McNelis. Emily Bango (eight points, six assists, three steals) sank a trey, but Furman’s three-pointer evened it again.
Muller made two free throws with 6:54 left to put the Yellowjackets ahead for good, 59-57. Bango made a layup, then Muller made back to back layups – one from Bango, one from Megan Krebbeks – to extend to 65-57 with 4:38 left.
RIT narrowed it to two, 67-65, on Sandy’s trey with 2:12 left. Muller made a conventional three point play, then hit a jumper (from McNelis) to key a 9-0 run in the closing minutes that put it out of reach.
Newspaper Box Score RIT vs Rochester 01/02/07 6 pm at Palestra, Rochester, NY At Palestra, Rochester, NY ROCHESTER 76, RIT 65 RIT (6-2) Margot Sandy 8-16 5-8 25; Danielle Furman 3-9 1-2 9; Renee Whitmore 3-5 2-2 8; Joanna Dobeck 2-7 3-5 7; Christine Rowinski 2-3 2-2 6; Ramata Diallo 2-8 1-1 5; Jenna Newberry 1-1 0-0 3; Shannon Bean 1-1 0-0 2; Jackie Hammond 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 14-20 65. ROCHESTER (9-0) Muller, Danielle 10-19 9-9 30; McNelis, Johanna 3-9 2-2 11; Bango, Emily 3-5 1-3 8; Krebbeks, Megan 3-7 0-0 6; Marriott, Julie 3-6 0-2 6; Baroody, Helen 1-6 2-2 5; Lyons, Emily 0-3 3-6 3; Mastronardi, Jessica 1-2 0-0 3; Fisher, Marlena 0-1 2-2 2; Waddell, Jessica 1-4 0-0 2; Stern, Rachel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-62 19-26 76. RIT........................... 33 32 - 65 Rochester..................... 31 45 - 76 3-point goals-RIT 7-15 (Margot Sandy 4-4; Danielle Furman 2-8; Jenna Newberry 1-1; Christine Rowinski 0-1; Jackie Hammond 0-1), Rochester 7-20 (McNelis, Johanna 3-7; Baroody, Helen 1-3; Mastronardi, Jessica 1-1; Muller, Danielle 1-5; Bango, Emily 1-3; Krebbeks, Megan 0-1). Fouled out--RIT-Renee Whitmore, Rochester-None. Rebounds-RIT 33 (Ramata Diallo 9), Rochester 40 (Marriott, Julie 7). Assists-RIT 14 (Ramata Diallo 5), Rochester 21 (Bango, Emily 6). Total fouls-RIT 18, Rochester 17. A-250 Danielle Muller scores a career-high 30 points for U of R, as they stay undefeated at 9-0. Margo