Ithaca Women's Basketball Completes First 16-0 Conference Record in Empire 8 History
Hoboken, N. J. -- The #33 women's basketball team (21-4, 16-0 Empire 8) closed out the regular season with a 58-48 win at Stevens (14-9, 10-4 Empire 8). With the win -- their school-record 16th straight -- the Bombers wrapped up the first 16-0 Empire 8 record in any sport. Ithaca, who has won a conference-record 18 consecutive Empire 8 games, will host the Empire 8 Championship Tournament next weekend at Ben Light Gymnasium. The Bombers face fourth-seeded St. John Fisher at 6 p.m. in Friday's first semifinal with Stevens taking on Utica at 8 p.m.
The Bombers, who are just the second team in Division III this season to close out an undefeated conference season, harassed the host Ducks into missing 75 percent of their shots and held a nine-point halftime lead. Ithaca has held eight opponents under 50 points this winter.
Senor guard Katherine Bixby (Germantown Friends/Philadelphia, Pa.) scored a game-high 17 points and added four rebounds, three assists and two steals. She raised her career total to 362 assists, passing former Empire 8 Player of the Year Kerri Brown (261 assists from 1999 to 2003) for second on the program’s all-time list.
Junior forward Elissa Klie (Ramapo/Wyckoff, N.J.) netted 14 points and led Ithaca with six rebounds, five steals and four blocked shots. Klie moved into seventh on Ithaca’s career steals list, raising her total to 187.
Senior guard Lindsay Brown (Immaculate/Danbury, Conn.) finished with 13 points. Freshman forward Devin Shea (St. Basil Academy/Huntingdon Valley, Pa.) and sophomore guard Jessica Farley (Pine Valley Central/South Dayton) matched Klie with six rebounds apiece. Farley's effort matched a career high.
Ithaca has now won five of the six regular-season meetings between the two teams.