17-0 Start and Late Free Throws Lead Ithaca Past Hartwick
Oneonta, N.Y. -- The women's basketball team (19-5, 15-0 Empire 8) won its 15th straight game, beating host Hartwick (9-14, 6-9 Empire 8) 59-54 Friday. Ithaca scored the game's first 17 points, then rallied to win after the Hawks took their first lead with 2:44 to go.
After the Hawks took their only lead (51-50) with 2:44 to go, the Bombers held Hartwick without a basket for the rest of the game. They went back on top on a three-point basket by junior guard Jess Farley (Pine Valley Central/South Dayton) 15 seconds later; after a pair of Hartwick free throws tied the game at 53 with 1:39 to go, senior forward Elissa Klie (Ramapo/Wyckoff, N.J.) gave Ithaca the lead for good on a fast-break lay-up with 79 seconds left. Two free throws by senior guard Jordan Confessore (South Brunswick/Kendall Park, N.J.) with eight seconds left and two more by Klie six seconds later provided the final margin.
Klie finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals. She moved into third on Ithaca's career blocked shot list (113) and 15th on the program's scoring list (864 points).
Farley scored 14 points -- two short of her career high -- and added three assists. Freshman forward Jennifer Escobido (Norwich Free Academy/Lisbon, Conn.) contributed eight points and six rebounds and sophomore center Devin Shea (St. Basil Academy/Huntingdon Valley, Pa.) scored eight points and matched a career best with three steals.
In jumping out to a 17-0 lead, Ithaca forced 10 Hartwick turnovers in the first 10 minutes and held the Hawks without a basket until the 9:16 mark. The Bombers didn't allow a second Hawk basket until 5:01 was left in the half and led by as many as 25 points before intermission.
Friday's win was Ithaca's ninth straight over Hartwick and raised the Bombers' lead in the all-time series to 44-16. The Bombers close out the regular season Saturday at Stevens; they've won 33 Empire 8 games in a row and a win would give them their second straight 16-0 conference record.
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