ITHACA, NY – Behind 30-point efforts from two different players and a dominant defensive stance in the second half, the Ithaca College women's basketball team posted an 89-70 victory over Vassar College in Liberty League action on Friday evening. With the win, the Bombers improve to 19-5 overall with a 15-2 mark in league play. The Brewers are now 17-7 and 13-4 in the Liberty League
They secure the #1 seed for the upcoming Liberty League Tournament and will host the Semifinals and Championship game next Saturday and Sunday. For Vassar, they are currently locked in a tie for second with St. Lawrence, needing a win tomorrow and a Saints' loss to RPI to secure the second-seed in the tournament and a First Round bye.
Ithaca was paced by senior forward Cassidy O'Malley and junior guard Grace Cannon, both of whom posted 31 points each in the contest. O'Malley added 12 rebounds, six assists and five steals, while Cannon had 10 boards, three assists, a block and three steals. Senior guard KellyAnne O'Reilly rounded out the top three in scoring with nine points and five caroms to go along with four steals.
Vassar was paced by senior center
Sophie Nick as she posted 21 points and a game-high 15 rebounds to go along with two assists, a block and two steals. Classmate and guard
Isa Peczuh added 17 points, two boards, two assists and a steal, while junior guard
Ryan DeOrio posted nine points with three caroms. She also added three assists, two blocks and two steals.
The Bombers opened up the game's scoring with a narrow 17-15 lead after the opening quarter of action. Four points from O'Malley, coupled with free throws from Cannon helped Ithaca open up an eight point (22-15) advantage at the 7:54 mark, but the Brewers bounced back as free throw makes and a trey from Peczuh pulled the game back to three (23-20) less than a minute later.
Ithaca continued to capitalize at the free throw line as Cannon nailed a pair and O'Reilly sank one in addition to a three-pointer to once again open up a nine-point edge (29-20) with 5:42 on the clock. Vassar battled back and back-to-back buckets from first year guard
Alex Lee, coupled with a trey from Peczuh helped make it a 31-30 game at 3:27.
Despite that momentum and subsequent back-and-forth buckets by both teams, it would be the Bombers who headed into the halftime break with a four-point edge (41-37) on the heels of two more makes at the line by O'Malley.
Third quarter action was another battle for both teams as the Bombers continued to hold the lead. Vassar kept up the fight and pulled to within two (48-46) on a layup by sophomore
Sarah Gillooly, but five straight free throw makes for the Bombers put the home team back up by nine (57-48) with 3:27 left in the quarter.
Ithaca's lead ballooned into double-figures and a three from Peczuh helped pull it back to within 11 (62-51), but two free throw shots – again from O'Malley – helped the Bombers own a 64-54 advantage heading into the final quarter of play.
The Brewers came out firing in the final frame as shots from Nick, Peczuh and DeOrio helped make it a three-point (64-61) game with 8:14 to go, but an 8-0 run quickly followed for the homestanding Bombers, who opened back up an 11-point edge (72-61). Ithaca kept up the pressure over the final minutes of the game, holding the visitors to just one bucket over the final 2:12 of the contest enroute to the win.
Both teams return to action tomorrow as Ithaca hosts Bard for Senior Day, while Vassar heads to RIT. Both contests are set to begin at 2pm.
