ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team posted a 58-41 Empire 8 Conference triumph over visiting St. John Fisher College inside Ben Light Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon to improve to 15-3 on the season and 7-2 in the conference. The win marks Ithaca's fourth four-game winning streak this season.

Junior Julie Yacovoni paced Ithaca to a 16-9 lead after the first quarter with seven points on 3-for-3 shooting. Yacovoni scored the game's first five points on a layup and 3-pointer.

Ithaca led for the entire quarter, but Fisher got to within two points at 11-9 with 1:31 remaining. Sophomore Annie Giannone staked the Bombers to their 16-9 advantage with five points in a 33-second span.

The Bombers pulled down six offensive rebounds in the frame, which led to seven second-chance points.

Early on in the second quarter, Ithaca used a pair of stellar backdoor passes from Yacovoni and senior Erin Ferguson to put the Bombers up by 11 points, 22-11, by the 7:10 mark. The duo assisted on each other's baskets.

IC would hold onto its double-digit lead up until a 3-pointer by Fisher cut the difference to 24-16 with 3:04 to go. The Cardinals got to within a six-point disparity with 1:46 on the clock, but a layup from freshman Cassidy O'Malley and two makes at the line by sophomore Sara Jackson put Ithaca back up by 10 heading into halftime, 30-20.

The Bombers opened up the game with an impressive third quarter, as they held Fisher to just three points over a seven-minute stretch to build their lead to 20 at 44-24 with 2:25 remaining. Ithaca used a 7-0 run to begin the stanza on a pair of layups from Ferguson and a 3-pointer by junior Jordan Beers.

Fisher scored the final five points of the quarter to close the gap to 44-29.

Over the final 10 minutes of play, Ithaca sustained its double-digit cushion and never allowed Fisher to get closer than a 13-point difference, which happened to take place on the first basket of the period, 44-31. The Bombers would re-establish their 20-point advantage, 51-31, by the 4:32 mark of the quarter on a jumper by Yacovoni.

IC salted away the victory with senior Shayna Gaskins and sophomore Meghan Pickell down the stretch. Gaskins chipped in three points, while Pickell added four points from the charity stripe. The Ithaca defense did the rest, limiting the Cardinals to 41 points, a season-low mark for the Bombers.

Ithaca's defensive effort was a season-best, as it held the Cardinals to just 27.1-percent shooting (13-of-48) from the field in the contest. The Bombers forced 27 turnovers, racking up 16 steals and 10 blocks as a team.

Yacovoni finished with a team-high 13 points, while also adding three assists, three steals and a block. Beers chipped in 11 points, which included 2-for-6 shooting from the beyond the arc. The junior posted a team-best six rebounds.

Ferguson had a solid two-way effort on the day. She finished with nine points, three blocks, and a steal. Erin Woop swiped a career-best five steals in 23 minutes of action.

The Ithaca women return to action on Tuesday, January 31, with a 6:00 p.m. contest at Nazareth College.