The Bombers (10–9 overall) are in second place in the conference standings with an 8–2 mark, ranking only behind Empire 8 newcomer Stevens Institute of Technology.

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Men’s & Women’s Basketball vs. SUNY-Oneonta, Feb. 5

The Bombers lost to SUNY-Oneonta on Tuesday, 61–59.

With Utica College at 7–4 and St. John Fisher College at 6–4, it would appear that the Bombers have very little breathing room. Anything can happen in the final six conference games, and in order to ensure an opportunity at another postseason championship, the Blue and Gold know that they have to first take care of business in the regular season.

Junior forward Tracy Bradley said it is important for the team to understand the importance of each game.

“We are going to just continue doing what we have been doing,” Bradley said. “Each game we go into with the mentality that it is the championship game, and we don’t think about the past or the future. We just take care of what needs to be done in the present.”

Having lost to Stevens 58–40 in the first matchup Dec. 9, this amnesic frame of mind might be the perfect remedy for their Feb. 22 rematch.

Despite a heartbreaking two-point loss to Oneonta in the game’s closing seconds Tuesday night, the Bombers remain confident and prepared for this final late-season run. Junior guard Megan Rumschik said the South Hill squad knows exactly what needs to be done from here on out.

“We are going into each practice, working harder than we have before,” Rumschik said. “Our defense is something that has always been a key for us, and with the games coming up, we are making sure that we are on top of our defensive game. Our game plan always starts with defense first, and if we can get our job done on the defensive end, the offense will come automatically.”

The Blue and Gold, catapulted throughout the season by their tenacity on the defensive end, have had to work twice as hard without senior captain and guard Kali Carnovale, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury Dec. 29, controlling the floor.

Nonetheless, the Bombers continue to find answers from key players like Bradley, who scored a season-high 12 points in the loss to Oneonta, and sophomore guard Lindsay Brown, who earned Empire 8 Player of the Week last week as a result of her career-high 23 points in just 25 minutes off the bench in the 68–56 victory against Rochester Institute of Technology on Jan. 29. Brown drained a school-record seven three-pointers in this game.  

Brown said it was simply great to get her jump shot going.

“First of all it felt great to finally shoot well because I had been struggling,” Brown said. “I try to shoot as much as possible, and I shoot before every game, but I have to credit our point guard [sophomore Katherine Bixby] and the other girls on the team because they were the ones making the passes to me. Without them, those seven [three-pointers] would have never happened.”

The good news for the Bombers is that Brown continued her solid play in the loss to Oneonta with 14 points off the bench to go along with four steals and two assists.

For continual success throughout this late-season run, consistent production from the bench will be crucial.