The Ithaca College women’s basketball team could not stop the offensive attack of the University of Rochester, falling 80-70 Dec. 2 at Ben Light Gymnasium. The loss drops the Bombers to 2-4 in what was their season’s home opener. With the win, the Yellowjackets extend their win streak to four straight and climb to 4-3 on the season. The Bombers have surrendered 70 or more points in four of their six games, losing all four.
Junior guard Tori Drevna started the scoring for the Bombers, nailing a 3-pointer early. The Yellowjackets answered right back in what would become a theme for the game, with sophomore guard Grace Corelli hitting a three. Drevna had perhaps the best game of any Bombers, putting up 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
As the first quarter wore on, the Bombers could not find a consistent rhythm on offense. With the Yellowjackets playing tight defense, several passes were forced and became turnovers. The Yellowjackets gained 13 points off Bombers turnovers over the course of the evening.
The teams traded scoring runs to end the first quarter. With 5:24 to go, the Yellowjackets took an 11-5 lead. At 3:52, that lead had shrunk to 13-12, before the Yellowjackets closed the period on a 7-0 run to take a 20-12 lead.
The Bombers’ offensive production in the first half included eight 3-pointers. In the second quarter, it was sophomore guard Simone Pintinalli knocking down two of the six that the Bombers made in the quarter. Pintnalli went 3-of-7 from beyond the arc in the game, along with five rebounds.
The Yellowjackets weren’t as trigger-happy from three but instead responded with 2-pointers of their own. They dominated the paint, outscoring the Bombers 42-22 in that area of the court.
The last five minutes of the quarter saw a mirage of offense from both teams. With 4:34 to go, it was tied 24-24. Less than a minute later, it was 29-24 Yellowjackets. Just over a minute after that, it was 29-all. The teams traded baskets for the rest of the period, concluded by a buzzer-beating layup by Yellowjackets graduate student guard Franki Gomez. Gomez was the engine of the team, collecting 14 points, six rebounds and eight assists on 6-of-10 shooting.
Coming out of halftime, the Yellowjackets held a 39-35 lead in what was a competitive game to that point. The two teams were playing very different brands of basketball, the Bombers lighting it up from three and the Yellowjackets passing inside for layups or mid-range shots.
The crowd was engaged as the Bombers stood defensively twice to begin the half. Throughout the game, the crowd was loving the 3-point show the Bombers were putting on. They did not stop shooting them, as Drevna dropped in a three to bring the game to 41-38 in favor of the Yellowjackets.
That’s when the cracks started to form for the Bombers. With about eight minutes to go, three Bombers fouls led to three points on free throws. The offense could not capitalize on transition opportunities, trying to go fast when they should have slowed it down and slowing down when they should have sped it up.
Coach Dan Raymond said during the second half that the team’s shot selection and experience of the team could be improved upon.
“It could have been better. We are so inexperienced, trying to figure out when to push, when to pull it out, what shots to take,” Raymond said. “We’re just trying to figure it out.”
Pintnalli drilled her third 3-pointer with 3:05 to go in the third. It was just a 52-48 Yellowjacket advantage at that point. With momentum seemingly back on the Bombers’ side, the Yellowjacket defense clamped up and didn’t allow another Bombers field goal for the remainder of the quarter. In that time, they went on an 8-1 run to take a 60-49 lead to the fourth.
With the energy in Ben Light Gymnasium at a low to begin the period, two Bombers layups brought the crowd back into it. However, the Yellowjackets instantly quelled that with a 3-pointer courtesy of junior forward Tia Poulakidas. Poulakidas was the only player to post a double-double.
The Bombers missed shots and the Yellowjackets made them pay, putting in three straight baskets to take a commanding 71-55 lead midway through the fourth. The Bombers took a timeout with 4:24 to go and after that a pair of layups and free throws lessened the margin. The Yellowjackets took a timeout of their own and put their foot on the gas, ripping off three layups in a row to go up 77-61 with about 3 minutes, 30 seconds left and essentially put the game on ice.
“Defensively, we couldn’t stop them,” Raymond said. “We gave up 80 points. That’s something that we tried to emphasize at the beginning of the year, and we’re just not doing it right now,”
Throughout the game, it seemed like the Bombers were always playing catch up. The Yellowjackets constantly shut down any Bombers momentum and responded with a deflating scoring run. Raymond lamented that post-game.
“We just have to do better at it,” Raymond said. “We have to [commit to the overall speed of the game].”
The Bombers head to Vassar College at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 5 to take on the Vassar College Brewers for their first Liberty League game of the season.
