Women's Basketball | 2/1/2017 2:46:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY — It's all truly come full circle for women's basketball senior
Ashlynn Palmitesso (Fulton, NY/G. Ray Bodley).
The standout guard has been able to fulfill her lifelong dream, gain experience all across the country, and come back and see success on the court in her final season.
Palmitesso took the 2015-16 season off to pursue a co-op with Medtronic, an international medical device company. She worked in Portsmouth, N.H. and then Boulder, Co. She then returned to RIT this year to finish her degree, and play in her final college basketball season.
Palmitesso has come back stronger than ever, recently becoming the seventh player in RIT women's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points. She currently ranks second on the team and ninth in the Liberty League with 11.2 points per game in league contests, and is also making 44.2 percent of her shots in conference play.
"I'm really proud of Ashlynn for a lot of reasons, taking a year off is not easy," said RIT women's basketball head coach
Amy Reed. "Coming back to a team with some new players, a new dynamic — I'm proud of her for making that adjustment."
But the adjustment didn't happen overnight. Palmitesso had to work harder to get back into the lineup, like when she was starting for the Tigers in 2014-15. In 2015-16, RIT recorded its finest season in program history, with 20 wins.
The extra work began in what she called her biggest weakness through her first three years at RIT: her defensive game.
"My senior year started off slow, but then I fell back into the team as we continued on," said Palmitesso. "Going into this year, it was known that I wasn't the best defensive player, but I've tried my best to overcome that and just really work on my weaknesses."
Reed echoes that, adding that Palmitesso can now "take people off the bounce," and has become a great leader, helping out the captains on the team.
"Ashlynn gives 100 percent every day," said senior captain
Julia Bender (Webster, NY/Webster Thomas). "She's always in the gym putting in work, shooting, at the late hours of the night. She always has important advice to give about how we're playing and what we need to do to get better. But the best part is that she leads by example."
Two summers ago, Palmitesso was able to take advantage of an opportunity that she had always dreamed of, which changed her life. She took the summer of 2015 and moved out to Wyoming to work on a ranch, working in the day-to-day operations. It was polar opposite of her work as a biomedical engineering major, but something she enjoyed thoroughly.
"It's always been my passion to have that ranch life," said Palmitesso. "I love horses, and ever since I was little I just was always intrigued by ranches, cowboys, horses, and that whole theme. I just looked at it, said 'this is for me,' and went out there."
It's not something even her own teammates expected her to be interested in, but they all saw through social media and through speaking with her, how much it truly meant.
"It was kind of a spur of the moment decision," said Bender. "It wasn't necessarily directly related to her major, but it was something that she was passionate about. I give a lot of credit to her for doing something different and going out on a limb."
After she graduates from RIT in 2017, Palmitesso will be headed back out west, as she's accepted a position in Boulder. She will re-join Medtronic, as a contract manufacturing engineer with their operations team.
For now, she's back and in full force as the Tigers are looking to climb their way into the Liberty League playoffs, and earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament. RIT currently is sixth in the conference at 6-5 in league play, but is just a half a game out of third place Clarkson (6-4), who the Tigers host on Friday. The top four finishers in the league will compete in the 2017 Liberty League Postseason Tournament. The Tigers were one game away from their first league title last season, and will look to win their first title later this month.
