Box Score ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team defeated Hartwick Friday evening, dropping the Hawks by a score of 60-50 at Ben Light Gymnasium. The win improves Ithaca's overall record to 18-4, including a mark of 12-1 in the Empire 8. Hartwick falls to 6-16 overall and 4-9 in the conference.

The Bombers hit 20-of-49 shots on the night, giving them a shooting percentage of 40.8 from the floor. Ithaca was 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc, and 12-of-17 (70.6 percent) from the charity stripe. Ithaca's bench played a major role in the victory, outscoring Hartwick's reserves, 30-15.

Sophomore Ali Ricchiuti paced Ithaca with 11 points. She also tied for first on the roster with six rebounds. Senior Samantha Klie scored seven points and led the Bombers with four assists. Sophomore Alex Gilligan led all reserves with nine points and two steals.

The Bombers opened the game with five-straight points, starting with a layup from Klie. Ithaca took the first double-digit lead of the contest with 12:16 to go in the half, as Gilligan nailed a three pointer to put the Bombers up, 16-6.

The Hawks pulled back to within seven points of the Bombers with 8:26 remaining, but another Gilligan shot from beyond the arc just a minute later regained Ithaca's double-digit lead at 23-13. Although Hartwick was able to chip away at the Ithaca advantage again, a pair of free throws from Ricchiuti with less than 30 seconds remaining sent the Bombers to halftime ahead, 28-19.

Hartwick scored the first six points of the second half, pulling them back to within three points of the Bombers. Ithaca responded with its best offensive stretch of the game, as the Bombers went on an 18-6 run over the next eight minutes. A layup from sophomore Shayna Gaskins capped the run with 10 minutes left in the half, giving the Bombers a 15-point lead at 46-31.

The Ithaca defense held strong for the remainder of the contest, securing the 60-50 conference victory for the Bombers.

Ithaca, the No. 3 team in the NCAA East Region, will honor its seniors in the final home game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 14 as the Bombers play host to the No. 4 team in the region, the Stevens Ducks. The contest marks one of the final games for seniors Geena Brady, Samantha Klie, Ally Mnich and Francesca Cotrupe. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Ben Light Gymnasium.

Boxscore (HTML)