The Ithaca College women’s basketball team dropped a close game to the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds on Jan. 20, losing by a final score of 66–59 and bringing a nine game winning streak to an end.
The Bombers came into the game riding high off of a dramatic 61–60 victory over Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute the night before. The Thoroughbreds also played a game the previous night, going on the road to demolish Bard College 70–29.
The Bombers took control to start the game with fluid offense and stifling defense as the Thoroughbreds took a while to find its shot. Bombers’ graduate student guard Camryn Coffey laced two 3-pointers to help the Bombers take a 20–13 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Thoroughbreds came out of the gate hot to start the second quarter as the Bombers seemed to have lost its spark, with Thoroughbred sophomore guard Melissa Severino connecting on a huge 3-pointer to take the lead late in the quarter. However, sophomore guard Zoraida Icabalceta led junior forward Anya Watkins to the basket on a great cut, reducing the deficit to 36–33 close the half.
The third quarter saw both teams trade buckets to start, but the Thoroughbreds started to pull away after a few minutes. The Bombers clawed back after being caught on their heels, with graduate student guard June Dickson bringing the game back to within three to make the score 50–47 going into the final frame.
The Bombers took control to open the fourth quarter behind consecutive triples from first-year guard Tori Drevna, but the Thoroughbreds recovered quickly and took their lead back. The Bombers stayed competitive the entire game, but the closing moments saw the Thoroughbreds capitalize on free throws to ice a 66–59 victory.
One of the most notable takeaways from the game was the physicality, as both teams combined for a total of 37 personal fouls. The Thoroughbreds hit 21 free throws, which proved to be a deciding factor in the outcome of the game.
Another deciding factor in the Thoroughbreds’ victory was senior forward Julia Blanck, who scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. The Bombers had no answer for Blanck, as the Thoroughbreds found plenty of ways to get her the ball.
Bombers coach Dan Raymond gave Blanck her props and said that it was difficult to contain her.
“[Blanck] is just really good,” Raymond said. “She got the ball at the high post, we could not stop her, she got the ball in the low post, we could not stop her, we tried fronting her, they throw it over the top, she’d get offensive rebounds, she just did whatever she needed to do to score those 29 points.”
While the Bombers did not achieve its desired result, they have a chance at redemption, as they will visit Skidmore for a rematch on Feb. 2. Watkins said that the team will need to keep a short memory and put the game behind them.
“We need to just forget about this game and just focus on ourselves and focus on what we need to improve,” Watkins said. “We know what we need to work on. We talked about it after the game, and we just have to go harder next time.”
The Bombers start a road stretch with its game at William Smith College at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 26 in Geneva, New York.
