ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team defeated Bard, 94-42, on Saturday to complete the sweep on Liberty League opening weekend.
 
Four players scored in double figures against the Raptors, led by sophomore Grace Cannon, who scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Juniors Cassidy O'Malley and KellyAnne O'Reilly and senior Meghan Pickell all scored 10 points on the day. Pickell also pulled down seven rebounds for the Bombers.
 
Bard kept things close in the opening minutes of the first quarter before Ithaca started to pull away. Both teams exchanged baskets in the first four minutes of action, and a Bard three from Jess Rylander at the 6:01 mark cut IC's lead to 8-7.
 
A layup from Cannon less than on minute later started an 8-0 run for the Bombers. Sophomore Abbi Field followed that up with another layup before senior Meghan Mazzella netted a free throw. O'Reilly finished out the run with a three at the 3:43 mark, putting IC up 16-9.
 
Following two free throws from Rylander, senior Sara Jackson drained a shot from behind the arc to give IC its first double-digit lead of the game with 3:08 left in the first.
 
From there, the Bombers scored the final seven points of the quarter, ending with a three from sophomore Megan Yawman with just two seconds left.
 
The Bombers continued to produce offensively, outscoring Bard 28-11 in the second quarter.
 
First-year Cara Volpe led the Bombers in the second quarter with six points, scoring the final three baskets of the first half, all on layups. O'Malley had five points in the second quarter, including a three-point play with 2:35 left, hitting a layup and draining the ensuing free throw after being fouled.
 
The Bombers came out of the half to score the first six points of the third quarter behind layups from Annie Giannone and Pickell as well as a pair of free throws from O'Malley.
 
A layup from Cannon with 6:44 put IC up 40-points and the Bombers continued to put pressure on Bard offensive, going up by as many as 45.
 
First-year Alex Heuwetter, who finished with eight points on the day opened up the fourth quarter with three points for the Bombers, hitting a jumper just seven seconds in and followed it up with a free throw a minute later.
 
Fellow first-year Alyssa Spady netted her first points of the day with 8:16 left, draining a three pointer.
 
With just 1:13 left to play, first-year Lia Baroncini netted a three from the corner, notching the Bombers' final points of the game. With Baroncini's points, every IC player scored against the Raptors.
 
Rylander led all scorers with 23 points to go along with three steals and three blocks.
 
The Bombers are back in action next Saturday, December 9 when they travel to Hoboken, N.J. to face former Empire 8 foe Stevens for a 1 p.m. contest.