HOUGHTON, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team got back on the winning track Thursday evening as the Bombers defeated Houghton College, 67-53, in a road Empire 8 Conference contest. Ithaca is now 12-3 on the season and 4-2 in the Empire 8, while Houghton falls to 7-8 and 1-5 in league play.

Ithaca scored the game's first four points on back-to-back layups from senior Ali Ricchiuti, who finished the contest with a season-high 23 points on 8-for-14 shooting and a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line.

Houghton answered with nine consecutive points over a 1:40 stretch to take a 9-4 lead with 5:42 left in the first quarter. Junior Julie Yacovoni pulled the Bombers to within a basket on a layup and made free throw with 4:43 to go. After a bucket from Houghton pushed things back to a four-point spread, Ricchiuti hit both at the line to make it an 11-9 difference. Houghton went up by as many as six points, 16-10, in the final minute, but sophomore Meghan Mazzella closed out the period with a layup.

Early on in the second quarter, Ithaca netted six straight points to go up by an 18-16 count. Sophomore Sara Jackson scored four of the points during the spurt. Houghton responded with its own 7-0 run by the 4:41 mark to flip the lead to the Highlanders' favor, 23-18. The Highlanders would hold onto that lead until sophomore Allie Tunick hit both free throws with two seconds to play, which sent the Bombers into the locker room with a slim, 26-25, cushion.

The Bombers would hold that lead for the remained of the game as they outscored Houghton, 18-12, in the third quarter and 23-16 in the final stanza, to account for the 67-53 victory.

In the third quarter, Yacovoni score four points in less than 30 seconds to give Ithaca its largest lead of the game at that time, 32-27. By the 4:36 mark, the Bombers increased their lead to 40-32 on a 3-pointer from Ricchiuti. Two minutes later, sophomore Annie Giannone, who tallied seven steals on the evening,, gave Ithaca its first double-digit advantage of the outing, 42-32. The Highlanders fought back to a 44-37 difference by the end of the quarter.

By the 6:22 mark of the fourth quarter, freshman Cassidy O'Malley put in a layup to give Ithaca a 52-42 advantage, which it would never relinquish for the remainder of the game.

Yacovoni tallied nine points (5-of-8 at the line) with five rebounds, two steals and two assists. O'Malley notched 10 points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting and 4-for-5 at the stripe. Mazzella chipped in six points, while senior Shayna Gaskins pulled down nine rebounds (seven offensive) with three points.

Ithaca shot 34.4-percent (22-for-64) from the field, while Houghton connected on 38.6% of its tries (17-for-44). The Bombers enjoyed a 21-14 edge in made free throws and turned 28 Highlander turnovers into 23 points. Ithaca also owned a plus-nine difference in rebounds (42 to 33).

The Bombers conclude their road trip on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. as they travel to Elmira College.