Ithaca, Fisher advance
Ithaca 82, Mount St. Vincent 72
BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Ithaca College women's basketball team outscored Mount St. Vincent by 12 points in the closing portion of the game and earned an 82-72 win in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament at Morrell Gymnasium at Bowdoin College. Ithaca has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. The Bombers will face Bowdoin in Saturday's second-round game at 7 p.m.
Ithaca held a 50-27 advantage in rebounds, including 24 offensive rebounds that led to 22 second-chance points for the Bombers.
Ithaca had a strong start to the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers from
Ali Ricchiuti and
Alex Gilligan stretched Ithaca's lead to 19-7 and forced Mount St. Vincent to use a timeout with 13:24 remaining in the first half. The lead grew to 18 points at 27-9 with 11:22 remaining in the first half, and was Ithaca's largest lead. Ithaca led 39-26 at halftime. Nine different players scored in the opening 20 minutes for the Bombers.
Ithaca built a 16-point lead in the second half but Mount St. Vincent worked its way back into the game through the middle portion of the half and reduced Ithaca's lead to single digits.
An
Ally Mnich jump shot gave Ithaca a 65-58 lead but the Dolphins answered with nine straight points to take their first lead of the game at 67-65 with 3:42 left in the second half.
Keri Steele scored on a layup to tie the score for the Bombers. A free throw from Steele put Ithaca back in front 68-67. Three straight stops at the defensive end preserved the lead and Ricchiuti extended the advantage with a right-wing 3-pointer to make it 71-67. Ricchiuti grabbed a defensive rebound, made two free throws and then had another steal. She made two more free throws and Ithaca led 75-67 with 1:10 left.
A layup with 27 seconds left and a 3-pointer with two seconds left were Mount St. Vincent's only baskets of the final three and a half minutes as Ithaca's defense and rebounding carried the team down the stretch. Ricchiuti and
Francesca Cotrupe each had 11 rebounds in the game.
Five players scored in double-figures for Ithaca, led by Ricchiuti with 14 points. Steele and Mnich scored 13 points each,
Samantha Klie added 12 and
Jordan Beers had 11. Ithaca made 21-of-25 free-throw attempts. Ithaca's defense forced 19 turnovers by Mount St. Vincent.
St. John Fisher 62, Skidmore 60 (ot)
The St. John Fisher College women's basketball team secured its first NCAA Division III Championship win since 1999-2000, defeating Skidmore College 62-60 in overtime on Friday in the Championship's First Round, hosted by Tufts University.
With the win, Fisher (22-6) will face off against either Tufts University (27-1) at 5 p.m .on Saturday in the Second Round, with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.
After both teams put up 51 points in regulation, the five minute overtime stanza featured five lead changes.
Skidmore's Lindsey Davis connected on a 3-pointer following a
Mary Kate Cusack triple of her own to give the Thoroughbreds a 55-54 advantage over a minute into the extra period. Cusack, however, came right back with another 3-pointer to give Fisher a two point advantage at 57-55.
The Thoroughbreds regained the lead on consecutive possessions, in between two made free throws from
Jessica Rhone.
Fisher took the lead for good on a
Sydney Bloomstein jump shot with 1:14 to play, giving the Cardinals a 61-60 lead.
On the ensuing Skidmore possession, Cusack managed a timely steal, allowing Fisher to run the clock all the way down to :03 seconds before the Thoroughbreds were forced to foul
Portia Velasco.
Velasco connected on 1-of-2 free throws and a last second effort by Skdimore's Molly McLaughlin clanked off the back iron from 3-point land.
Skidmore had the lead or at least a share of it for most of the first half. Trailing 28-23 with over three minutes remaining Fisher used a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the game, including consecutive layups from
Lunden Cunningham. Skidmore held a 30-29 lead at the half.
Neither team held more than a four point advantage in the second half until Fisher built it largest lead of the game at 47-42 on a traditional three point play from Velasco with just over five minutes to play.
That lead didn't last long as Skidmore used a 5-0 run to knot up the game at 47.
Rhone, who scored a career-high 11 points, scored on a traditional three point play to push Fisher ahead 50-47 with just over three minutes remaining.
Skidmore scored the last four points of the half though and nearly converted a layup in the closing seconds of regulation to earn the victory.
Fisher shot just 27.8% (20-of-72) from the floor but converted 18-of-22 free throws (82%) to seal the win.
Velasco scored a team-high 17 points while Cusack finished with 13, including going 4-of-6 from 3-point land. Bloomstein and Cunningham pulled down seven boards apiece for Fisher. Bloomstein also finished the game with eight points.
Baruch 70, Stevens 59
The Stevens Institute of Technology women's basketball was unable to make-up an early first half deficit Friday in a 70-59 loss to Baruch College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The loss ends Stevens' season at 22-5 while Baruch (25-4) will advance to tomorrow's second round.
Junior
Kaitlyn Astel paced the Ducks with 13 points to go along with five rebounds while junior
Miranda Ripken added 11 points, six rebounds and two assists. Sophomore Erica Gukeltov scored nine points off three three-pointers, and freshman
Anna Toke pulled-down 12 rebounds.
The Ducks took a one point lead off a long three from Guketlov two minutes in, but Baruch responded with a 21-0 run over the next seven minutes to build a 25-5 lead. Krause ended the run with a three midway through the half before freshman
Sydney Darby made it five straight with a layup, cutting the deficit to 15.
Stevens continued to cut into the Baruch lead before a 10-0 run sparked by Ripken free throws brought the Ducks to within eight with under three minutes remaining. Sophomore
Brittany Washington made it an 11-2 run with a free throw, but a Baruch layup in the closing seconds put the Ducks in an 11 point hole heading into the break.
The Ducks made it an eight point game with three quick points from junior
Dylan Krause to start the second half, but a 5-0 run from Baruch put the Bearcats back up by 13. Stevens pulled back to within eight after a 5-0 run six minutes in, however Baruch regained the double-digit lead two minutes later before a jumper midway through the half ballooned the deficit to 17.
A pair of threes from Guketlov brought Stevens to within 12 with eight minutes to go before a 6-0 run capped by Toke's layup brought them to within eight. Three points from Astel followed by a Ripken layup cut the deficit to five with under two minutes to go, but Baruch closed the game on a 6-0 run to clinch the win.
The loss ends an extremely successful season for the Ducks that saw them surpass the 20-win mark for the first time since 2011, and record the most wins since 2009.