Bombers Open Empire 8 Play With Lopsided Women's Basketball Win At Elmira
Elmira, N.Y. -- The Ithaca women's basketball team (4-3, 1-0 Empire 8) won its Empire 8 opener Tuesday, defeating host Elmira (2-6, 0-1 Empire 8) 64-49.
Senior forward Elissa Klie (Ramapo/Wyckoff, N.J.) scored a career-high 21 points in just 24 minutes and freshman guard Jennifer Escobido added 13 points in 20 minutes off the bench. The Bombers forced 22 Soaring Eagle turnovers and turned them into 28 points; Ithaca turned the ball over just seven times -- the second-fewest turnovers in
Dan Raymond's 280 games as head coach -- leading to only two Elmira points.
The win was Ithaca's 21st straight in Empire 8 play; that stretch includes last winter's 16-0 record -- the league's first in any sport.
The Bombers closed the first half on a 17-4 run (the Soaring Eagles had taken their final lead, 18-16, with 9:08 to go) to carry a 35-22 advantage into intermission. After a 9-2 Elmira run to open the second period, the Bombers ripped off 19 of the game's next 22 points -- Klie scored 10 of the points -- and led by at least 15 points for the rest of the game.
Klie, who made 10 of her 15 shots from the floor, added three blocked shots and three steals. Her 21 points were the most by a Bomber this season. Junior guard Jessica Farley (South Dayton/Pine Valley Central) collected six rebounds and four steals; junior guard Riley Dunn (Central Catholic/Bradford, Mass.) matched Farley with a team-best six rebounds. Senior Jordan Confessore (South Brunswick/Kendall PArk, N.J.) added eight points.