Rochester, NY – RIT never trailed Thursday night as it handed Nazareth a 75-56 loss in the first contest of Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout, hosted at the University of Rochester.

The Tigers remain unbeaten at 6-0 with the win, while Nazareth drops to 2-3 on the season. 

A poor shooting first half, in which the Golden Flyers shot 27.6 percent (8-for-29), led to getting behind early as RIT scored the first eight points of the game.  Lizzie Straub connected on a 3-pointer for Nazareth's first points of the game.

The Golden Flyers trailed 20-11 heading into the second quarter.

Back-to-back buckets for sophomore Rachel Benedict brought Nazareth to within 31-22, however, the Tigers scored the final four points of the half to take their largest lead at 35-22.

It was much of the same in the second half as the steady shooting from the Tigers kept the Golden Flyers from making much noise – RIT finished 30-for-65 from the floor (46.2 percent). 

Nazareth trailed by as many as 23 with 5:34 on the clock.  A 3-pointer from Kristen Simmons shaved the lead to 71-56 with just under three minutes to play, but that is as close as Nazareth would come.  Simmons scored a career-high eight points, including going 2-for-3 from long range. 

Peebles was Nazareth's leading scorer for the fourth time this season, notching 16 points on 5-for-13 from the field, while also dishing out a team-high four assists.

Demetria Woodard poured in six points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, good enough for a career-high.

Benedict had seven points, while Delaney Martin chipped in six. 

Nazareth returns to action Saturday, taking on the University of Rochester at 8 p.m. for its second contest of the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout.  Saturday's game will also be hosted U of R.