Houghton gains first Empire 8 win

1/31/2015 9:17:05 PM

Houghton 51, Hartwick 42
Today's victory over Hartwick was a big milestone for the Houghton Women's Basketball team, earning their first official Empire 8 conference win by outscoring the Hawks 51-42.

A slow start to the first half allowed for only an 8-7 run to be accounted for within the first 12 minutes of the game. The two teams soon found themselves tied 13-13.
With the decision by Christel Enriquez-Fisher (Colorado Springs, CO, William Mitchell HS), Hannah Manwaring (Barton, NY, Tioga Central HS), and Maisie Pipher (Lowman, NY, Twin Tiers Christian) to team-up, the Highlanders were able to turn up the tempo by scoring 11 point consecutively. Houghton led the Eagles 24-13 going into the second half.

Pipher opened the second half with a jumper, increasing the Highlanders' lead. After taking turns scoring in a 10-8 run, Houghton's Hannah Fink (Coudersport, PA, Coudersport HS) took matters into her own hands by scoring 6 consecutive Highlander points.

Free throws proved to be the stabilizer for the Highlanders, sinking 11 within the last 7 minutes of the game. Houghton's 76% at the free throw line helped contribute greatly to their 51-42 conference victory.

While going 6-8 at the free throw line, a total of 14 points were credited to Pipher. Enriquez was a close second with 12 points while going 6-7 at the free throw line. Fink and Manwaring both earned 11 points on the night.

Ithaca 70, Nazareth 60
Empire 8 Conference leader Ithaca built a double-digit first-half lead against Nazareth Saturday and the Bombers held on for a 70-60 women's basketball victory over the Golden Flyers at Ithaca's Ben Light Gymnasium.

Combined with Friday's 57-point romp over Utica, Ithaca improved to 15-4 overall and 9-1 in the Empire 8. Nazareth, a four-point winner over St. John Fisher Friday, is 10-7 overall and 5-3 in conference games.

Julia Brew led Nazareth with 13 points with a pair of three-point baskets. Junior Lindsey Kelly posted her second straight double-double as she combined 11 points with a game-high 15 rebounds.

Nazareth led briefly early on before Ithaca seized control. A three-pointer by Ali Ricchiuti with 5:50 to go in the half extended the Bombers' lead to 28-21. Another basket by Ricchiuti and a pair of free throws by Keri Steele pushed the lead to 11 points, 33-22, with 2:08 to go.

Nazareth remained resilient and closed the half with an 8-2 scoring run that featured three-point baskets by Hannah Runyon and Brew on the final two possessions as the Golden Flyers drew within five points at the half, 35-30.

Ithaca threatened to pull away for good early in the second half as two baskets by Steele capped a 12-7 scoring run that ended with the Bombers back in front by 10, 47-37, with 14:51 to play.

Nazareth used a 16-6 scoring run of its own -- capped by a pair of free throws and a three-pointer by Brew -- to tie the score at 53-53 with 8:09 to go. Ithaca then scored the next six points to pull away for good. Ally Mnich hit two free throws with 1:04 to go and Samantha Klie buried four more in the closing minute to seal the win for the Bombers.

Nazareth made 21 of 53 shots from the field (39.6 percent) with five three-pointers. Ithaca made 26 of 64 shots with three three-pointers. Despite Kelly's 15 boards, Ithaca enjoyed a 43-36 rebounding edge with Klie and Francesca Cotrupe each grabbing nine. Ricchiuti led all scorers with 17 points, followed by Steele with 16 and Mnich with 11. Junior Sam Sorge added 10 points for Nazareth and junior Veronica Peck had eight points and four assists.

St. John Fisher 85, Utica 50
The St. John Fisher College women's basketball team shot 65 percent from the floor in the opening 10 minutes, jumping out to a 28-11 lead and never looked back, as the Cardinals cruised to an 85-59 win over visiting Utica College on Saturday afternoon at Fisher's Manning & Napier Varsity Gym.

With the win, Fisher improves to 14-5 overall and 7-3 in the Empire 8 Conference, while Utica falls to 9-12, 5-7.

Fisher's Mary Kate Cusack scored five points in the opening 40 seconds to get Fisher well on its way. Fisher led 7-5 with 17:22 left in the first half, but went on a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to take a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.

The Cardinals scored a season-high 47 points in the opening period and led 47-20 at the break, thanks to seven first-half 3-pointers.

Cusack scored 13 of her team-high 21 points in the first half, while Emily Piacentini tallied 10 of her 15 points in the opening half as well.

Freshman Lunden Cunningham scored a career-high 14 points in her first collegiate start, while senior Portia Velasco finished the game with 12 points.

Bridget Carney led Fisher with eight rebounds, while McKenzie Bezon added five points and four assists.

Freshman Jessica Rhone came off the bench and chipped in seven points and seven boards.

Stevens 90, Alfred 59
The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball team capitalized on a season high scoring outburst Saturday in a 90-59 win over Alfred University.
 
The win moves Stevens to 16-2 (10-1) while Alfred dropped to 4-14 (1-9).
 
Junior Kaitlyn Astel recorded her 14^th consecutive double-digit scoring output with 23 points while freshman Sydney Darby set a career-high with 20. Junior Miranda Ripken added 10 points, and freshman Megan Brown scored 10 to go along with a team-high seven rebounds. A total of 14 different players contributed points for Stevens.
 
As a team, the Ducks shot a season-high 58 percent from the field and scored all 90 points without hitting a single three pointer.
 
The Ducks built a seven point lead over the first four minutes, capped by a fast break layup from sophomore Brittany Washington. A three two minutes later brought Alfred to within three, but Stevens responded with a 10-0 run to go up 13 midway through the half.
 
Darby extended the lead to 14 off a layup with eight minutes to go before a layup from Brown five minutes later extended it to 15. Stevens ballooned the lead to 19 with just over one minute remaining, but Alfred was able to answer with six points in the final minute to cut the deficit to 14 going in the break.
 
Stevens maintained its double-digit lead to start the second half before a layup from Astel five minutes in brought the lead to 20. A layup from Ripken three minutes later extended it to 21, and a layup from sophomore Daphne Ginn shortly after took it to 23.
 
The Ducks gained their largest lead of the game at 36 off a layup from sophomore Earyn Calvis with three minutes remaining, giving Alfred too big of a deficit to mount any sort of rally.