Box Score ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team locked up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Empire 8 Conference Championship with a 70-60 road win at Nazareth on Tuesday evening. With the win, Ithaca is now 20-4 and 14-1 in the Empire 8, while Nazareth falls to 14-9, 9-5.

The 20 victories marks the sixth consecutive year that Ithaca has eclipsed that win total and the 11th time since head coach Dan Raymond took over the program in 2000-01. It also marks the seventh-straight season that the Bombers will head into the conference tournament as the top seed, and ninth overall.

The Bombers opened the game with nine unanswered points over the first 2:33 on back-to-back three-pointers from senior Ally Mnich and sophomore Ali Ricchiuti, followed by a jumper, and-one, from junior Keri Steele before Nazareth cracked the scoreboard its next trip down the floor.

Steele then hit a three to put Ithaca up, 12-2, at the 16:23 mark. The Golden Flyers called a timeout to regroup and proceeded to go on a 15-0 run over the next five minutes to build a 17-12 lead. Senior

Geena Brady ended Ithaca's drought on a layup with 10:30 to go which sparked an 11-0 run for the Bombers.  Mnich then drilled another from long range to knot the conference showdown up at 17-17. Sophomore Erin Ferguson and freshman Julie Yacovoni put in the next six points to cap off the run and gave Ithaca a 23-17 edge with 7:26 left in the half.

Another run ensued for Nazareth, as the Golden Flyers scored 10 of the next 12 points to regain control of the contest at 27-25 with 4:43 on the clock. Ithaca quickly took the lead back on a free throw from senior Samantha Klie and jumper by Ricchiuti within the next 1:18.

With 2:43 remaining, Steele made a pair from the line to put the Bombers up, 30-27, but Nazareth answered right back with a layup. Ithaca finished the final 2:09 with a three-pointer from sophomore Alex Gilligan and baskets from Steele and senior Francesca Cotrupe to send the Bombers into halftime with a 37-32 advantage.

The teams were nearly identical in shooting during the first half, as Ithaca shot 46.7-percent (14-for-30) and Nazareth went 13-for-28  (46.4-percent).

In the second half, the Bombers quickly built their lead back up to double digits over the first two minutes and maintained that cushion for what was essentially the remainder of the game.

Nazareth cut its deficit to eight points, 50-42, with 14:06 left, but Ithaca regained the 10-point edge just four seconds later. The difference would stay between 10 and 16 points up until the final minute of play when the Golden Flyers closed to a seven-point spread at 65-58 with 45 seconds on the clock.

The Bombers connected on 5-of-6 free throws over the final 44 seconds to come away with a 70-60 victory to secure the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament which is set to take place on Feb. 27 and 28. Ithaca took down Nazareth by the same score earlier this season.

Steele finished the contest with a career-high 21 points on an efficient night from the floor, going 6-for-8 overall (3-for-5 from three-point range) and 6-for-7 from the line. Steele also grabbed four rebounds to go along with two steals.

Klie matched a career-high with 13 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.

Mnich, Ricchiuti, Ferguson and Gilligan all chipped in six points, while Cotrupe, Brady and Yacovoni added four apiece.

Cotrupe pulled down six rebounds, while Yacovoni tallied four with three steals.

The Bombers finished the game shooting 44.4-percent overall (24-for-54) and from three-point distance (8-for-18). Ithaca also made 14-of-20 attempts at the line. Nazareth was held to just 25.9-percent shooting in the second half.

Ithaca concluded its regular season at Elmira on Friday at 6 p.m. More details on the Empire 8 Tournament will be posted when information becomes available.

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