GENEVA, N.Y. - SUNY Geneseo senior forward Allison McKenna tallied 14 points and eight rebounds while junior guard Katie Durand also had 14 points as the second-seeded Knights overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat seventh-seeded RIT, 58-56, in the first round of the Wendy's College Classic hosted by William Smith, Tuesday night.

Geneseo will face third-seeded and host Rochester in the tournament semifinals this Thursday at 8 p.m.

At 3:45 in the first quarter, junior forward Katie Vienneau made a lay-up to tie the game at eight but the Tigers answered with an 8-0 run to take a 16-8 lead at 1:16. After a jump shot by Durand, sophomore guard Jessica Glaz scored from beyond the arc with a second on the clock to put RIT up, 19-10, at the end of the first quarter.

With 2:19 to play in the first half, the Tigers converted two free throws to take their largest lead of the game, 28-14. The Knights responded by scoring the final seven points of the quarter to cut the lead to seven, 28-21, at halftime.

At 7:10 in the third quarter, senior guard Dana Cohan scored from long-range to bring the team within two, 30-28, but it was RIT holding a 42-37 edge at the end of three quarters of play.

Trailing 49-40 with 7:36 on the clock in the fourth quarter, Geneseo went on a 12-3 run to tie the game, 52-52. The run was capped by a steal and fast-break lay-up from junior guard Kara Houppert at 2:07. Following a lay-up by Tigers' first-year forward Tara Lynch at 1:36, Durand made a jump shot to even the score, 54-54.

With 48 seconds remaining, Houppert made another lay-up to give the Knights the lead, 56-54, but Lynch tied it back up with two free throws. At 0:28, Durand sank a jumper from the left elbow for the eventual game-winning field goal.