The Ithaca College women’s basketball team defeated the University of Rochester 59–53 Dec. 11 in Ben Light Gymnasium. The Bombers improved their overall record to 6–1 this season.
The South Hill squad dominated the start of the game by taking an early 10-point lead over the Yellowjackets with three baskets from junior Cassidy O’Malley, who was the high-scorer for the Bombers with 26 points. Senior guards Annie Giannone and Meghan Pickell also made a basket each. tallied one apiece. Rochester didn’t sink their first basket until halfway through the quarter, but then scored eight points in a row, bringing them within a basket of the Blue and Gold with 3:37 three and a half minutes remaining. The Bombers held off Rochester for the remainder of the first quarter, preventing them from scoring anymore and tallying six more points of their own.
The second quarter was back and forth between the two teams but a late run from the Yellowjackets shrank the South Hill squad’s lead to only two points. A layup from Giannone moments before the buzzer brought the score to 24–20 at halftime.
Rochester came out strong in the second half, tying the game at 26 points behind a layup from freshman forward Jamie Boeheim. The Bombers responded by taking a 34–29 lead behind two free throws and a layup by O’Malley. However, the Yellowjackets closed out the quarter on top, scoring seven in a row and holding onto the lead at 41–39 despite a late three-pointer from O’Malley.
The Blue and Gold came into the final quarter down two, but junior guard KellyAnne O’Reilly quickly tied things up with a layup in the first 20 seconds of play. However they then went down 46–42 after Rochester sank five points in a row. Giannone brought the South Hill squad back, scoring nine points in a row that included a 3-pointer, two layups and two free throws. The Yellowjackets couldn’t respond and never regained the lead after that run.
Sophomore guard Grace Cannon netted the final two points of the game on free throws to secure the Bombers’ win.
The South Hill squad will be back in action Dec. 14 in Scranton, Pennsylvania at the Hilton Scranton Poinsettia Classic against Capital University.
