ITHACA, N.Y. -- Second-seeded Utica (21-6) scored a buzzer-beating lay-up off an inbound pass to upset top-seeded Ithaca (22-5) in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament final. The Pioneers, 38-37 winners, earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. The Bombers, who topped each of the NCAA's East Region rankings, await Monday's announcement of the 21 at-large teams picked for the NCAA playoffs.
Ithaca's loss snapped a school-record 17-game winning streak. The Bombers are ranked 28th by D3hoops.com and 31st by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
Junior forward Jessica Berry (Rome Free Academy/Rome) scored a lay-up off an inbound pass to give the Pioneers the win. Berry, who was named tournament MVP, finished with four points and 11 rebounds. Her game-winning basket spoiled an Ithaca rally that saw the Bombers erase a six-point deficit in the 1:40 and take a one-point lead with 4.0 seconds left. Senior guard Lindsay Brown (Immaculate/Danbury, Conn.) capped Ithaca's rally by converting a three-point play; her free throw following a driving lay-up gave the Bombers a 37-36 lead.
On Utica's game-ending possession, the Bombers deflected two passes out of bounds and a kicked ball with 1.8 seconds remaining gave the Pioneers the ball under their own basket. Junior guard Stephanie Nara (Governor Thomas Johnson/Frederick, Md.) inbounded to Berry, who hit a short shot for the win.
Ithaca trailed by 11 points with 10:39 to go and were still down 34-28 with under two minutes left. Junior forward Elissa Klie (Wyckoff/Ramapo, N.J.) hit lay-ups on three straight possessions. Her last basket – which made the score 36-34 in Utica's favor – came after freshman forward Meghan Fiore (Epping/Epping, N.H.) missed a free throw on a three-point play attempt for Utica. Fiore's lay-up (on which she was fouled) was one of only three baskets the Pioneers scored in the game's final 14:48.
Fiore led the Pioneers with 15 points off the bench. Junior guard Devon Croll (Vernon-Verona-Sherrill/Vernon) added three assists and six steals.
Klie's 16 points were a game-high; she added nine rebounds and five steals. Senior point guard Katherine Bixby (Germantown Friends/Philadelphia, Pa.) finished with nine points, four steals and two assists for Ithaca.
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