ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team suffered a tough 60-59 Empire 8 Conference loss to St. John Fisher College on Thursday evening in Ben Light Gymnasium. Ithaca drops to 11-9 on the season and 7-4 in the conference, while Fisher improves to 16-3 and 9-1 in the E8.

Fisher's Emily Piacentini drilled a deep three-pointer as time expired to lift the Cardinals to victory. Ithaca went into the possession with a two-point lead after junior Erin Ferguson hit a jump in the lane with 3.8 left on the clock. After a timeout by Fisher moved the ball to the front court, Piacentini connected on the three.

The Bombers fell behind, 9-2, to start the game, but responded with their own 9-2 run to take a 12-11 advantage with 1:41 left in the quarter. Fisher regained the lead at 13-12 with 38 seconds left before junior Shayna Gaskins ended the period with a pair of free throws to send Ithaca to the second quarter with a 14-13 edge.

Sophomore Erin Woop led Ithaca in the first quarter with five points.

In the second quarter, sophomore Allison Spaschak connected on back-to-back three-pointers to stake Ithaca in a six-point lead at 20-13 just 1:21 into the frame. A layup from freshman Annie Giannone put the Bombers up by nine, 22-13, before Fisher snapped Ithaca's 10-0 with 7:44 to play. The Cardinals would chip away at Ithaca's lead for the rest of the quarter until they knotted things up at 24-24 with 59 seconds to go, which wound up as the halftime score.

The Bombers received 18 points from their bench in the first half as the team shot 8-for-30 overall and went a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw line. Fisher went 9-for-27 (33.3%) in the first half and outrebounded Ithaca, 23-15, over the first 20 minutes.

The third quarter was a tight one throughout, as the different stayed between three for the entirety except on one occasion when Ithaca lead, 32-28 with 6:26 to go. The lead changed hands nine different times in the quarter.

During the final period, sophomore Julie Yacovoni started things off with a three-pointer to put Ithaca back in front, 43-41, and the Bombers would hold onto the lead until the final shot of the contest.

In all, there were seven times and 14 lead changes in the game. Ithaca shot 33.3% overall in the game (21-for-63), but went just 5-for-26 from distance (19.2%) and made 12-of-13 attempts at the line. Fisher went 22-for-57 overall (38.6%), 5-for-16 from behind the arc and 11-for-16 at the line. The Bombers turned an eight-rebound deficit in the first half into a plus-three different by the end of the game (41-38).

Ferguson led the offense with 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in 20 minutes of action, while Yacovoni chipped in 10 points with eight rebounds and three blocks. Senior Keri Steele and junior Jordan Beers each grabbed five rebounds in the loss. Steele also added four points and three steals.

The Bombers return to action on Feb. 9 for a road showdown with Stevens at 8 p.m. Ithaca will then return home for the rest of the season with four home conference games before the Empire 8 playoffs begin.