It was a fierce battle on opening night, but the Ithaca College women’s basketball team came up just short against the SUNY Cortland Red Dragons on Nov. 14, dropping the match 65-60.
While the Bombers suited up for their first game of the season, the Red Dragons had just come off a heavy loss to the No. 3 University of Scranton. If the two corner 3-pointers they opened with were any indication, the Red Dragons were not looking to repeat that showing. The Bombers responded with a layup and 3-pointer of their own, both courtesy of graduate student guard June Dickson. The Bombers rode this momentum, along with efficient interior scoring, to a 17-12 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second started as the first had ended: with a Bomber bucket. This time, it was a catch-and-shoot from beyond the arc by RIT transfer and graduate student guard Emma Waite, capping off a 7-0 run that extended from the previous quarter. A layup through contact from senior forward Annabella Yorio, who led the Bombers in scoring on the day with 18, took the score to 22-12 in favor of the home side.
Then the drought hit.
The Bombers went on to miss 12 of their next 13 field goals, allowing Cortland back into the game. By halftime, the 10-point lead had been reduced to just one point. For the Bombers to stay afloat in this game, they needed to come into the third quarter firing.
Much to head coach Dan Raymond’s dismay, they did not.
“I mean, we got outscored by 11,” Raymond said. “It was 21-10 in the third quarter, so we’ve got to go back and watch film and figure out why we allowed them to score 21 points in the third quarter. That was really the difference.”
The Bombers got outplayed in every statistical category during that third quarter: 50:22 in field goal percentage, 40:12.5 in 3-point percentage, seven free throws made to one. Even in the rebounding department, where the Bombers dominated on the night by a total of 55-39 for the full game, the Red Dragons doubled their total in the third quarter.
The Bombers clawed their way back in the fourth quarter, and following several clutch shots from the likes of Dickson and Yorio, the game tied at 57 with 5:10 left on the clock. Two ill-timed turnovers would cost the Bombers dearly in what was locked at a stalemate, resulting in two fastbreak buckets for Cortland and a five-point gap with just 2:01 to go. Dickson splashed a triple in from the left corner to cut the lead to 62-60, but no SportsCenter Top 10 opportunities were be converted by the Bombers.
Down 63-60, the Bombers fell victim to a dubious call, when an intentional foul on a 3-pointer by Waite was not considered a shooting foul. This wiped potential game-tying free throws off the board for the South Hill squad, but the team had several other looks from deep after that they failed to convert.
“The kickouts were open,” Raymond said. “Our shooters were wide open. It just didn’t lead to made shots.”
The Bombers shot just 6-27 from beyond the arc, with only two players making a single 3-pointer for them. Waite went 2-4 from deep, but the more prolific scorer was Dickson, who put up 16-2-3, including four 3-pointers and three steals. On her final attempt, she went down with an injury that saw her carried off the court by teammates. Fortunately, it turned out to only be a cramp, but even through her pain, all Dickson could think about was the things she wanted to improve on.
“I’ve got to focus on not having as many mental lapses,” Dickson said. “Especially on defense, I let a couple of girls cut over me, and I’ve got to sharpen up my defensive skills as well as my offensive skills and take smarter and better shots down the line.”
Senior forward Anya Watkins, who had a career-high 16 rebounds to go along with nine points, an assist and a block, said there were positives to take away from the loss as well.
“I think we have a lot of learning opportunities from that game,” Watkins said. “I’m not faulting our effort at all. I think we played really hard.”
The Bombers have nearly a week off before their contest with the 2-1 St. John Fisher University Cardinals at 6 p.m. Nov. 19 in Ben Light Gymnasium.
