Ithaca Earns Spot in Empire 8 Title Game With 64-54 Win Over St. John Fisher
Box Score
ONEONTA, NY – Top-seeded Ithaca led from start to finish on Friday night in a 64-54 win over St. John Fisher in the Empire 8 Women’s Basketball semifinals at Hartwick College’s Lambros Arena. The Bombers, who are now 24-2 on the year, improve to 12-5 all-time in the conference tournament and are in search of their eighth Empire 8 title. They advance to the championship game against the winner of the Stevens-Hartwick game later this evening.
The Cardinals trailed by as many as 23 points in the second half but fought back to close the gap to just eight points with just over two minutes to play in the game. A three-pointer and then a steal and breakaway layup from Mary Kate Cusack made the score 56-48. It would be as close as Fisher would get, however, as the Bombers went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the victory.
Kathryn Campbell led all scorers with 16 points for Ithaca. She shot 11-of-12 from the free-throw line and grabbed seven rebounds. Devin Shea contributed 14 points and six boards for the winners. Mary Kate Tierney grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Cardinals were paced by Camaryn Buckner’s 15 points and eight rebounds. Portia Velasco contributed 13 and Sydney Bloomstein netted nine.
The Bombers shot 31.7% (20-for-63) from the floor as a group. They also made 21-of-26 from the line.
The Cardinals shot 32.2% (19-for-59). They struggled in the first half, making only 24%. In addition, Fisher was 0-for-8 from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes.
Ithaca had a huge advantage on the glass on the night, 51-34. It also grabbed 20 offensive rebounds over the course of the game.
The Bombers play in the title game tomorrow at Lambros Arena at 3 p.m.