ITHACA, N.Y. -- The women's basketball team (18-9) lost 59-57 to Stevens Institute of Technology (22-5) Saturday in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament final.

The Ducks and Bombers battled down to the wire in the third meeting of the season between the two squads where neither team has won by more than two points in any meeting. Stevens held a five point advantage in the final minute of the game until junior guard Katherine Bixby (Germantown Friends/Philadelphia, Pa.) hit a three-pointer to bring the score to 57-55 with 11 seconds to play. The Ducks converted on both free throws in the ensuing possession. Bixby then drove the length of the court to make a lay-up which brought the score to 59-57 with two seconds to play. Stevens missed the front end of the one-and-one bonus but Ithaca could not manage to get off a shot before the buzzer sounded.

Sophomore guard Jordan Confessore (South Brunswick/Kendall Park, N.J.) led the Bombers with a career-best 17 point effort on 5-of-8 shooting, including three field-goals from beyond the arc. Confessore paced the team during a 10-0 run in the first half where she scored 10 straight Ithaca points during a two minute stretch. She added a career-high nine rebounds and distributed three assists.

Bixby also recorded double-figures in point totals as she netted 16 to go along with five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Seniors Megan Rumschik (Williamsville East/East Amherst) and Tracy Bradley (Lewiston/Brunswick, Maine) each tallied seven points and five rebounds for the Bombers.
 
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