POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE

MEDFORD, Mass. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team used strong defensive pressure to top No. 22 SUNY Geneseo, 54-47, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
Senior Julie Yacovoni led the Bombers with 16 points, eight rebounds, four steals, four assists and three blocks. Junior Annie Giannone netted 12 points and recorded two steals in the win.
 
The Bombers came out of the game with suffocating defense, as they recorded four steals and 11 points off turnovers in the first quarter.
 
Ithaca opened with the first four points of the game on a jumper from junior Meghan Pickell and a layup from sophomore Cassidy O'Malley.
 
After an Alyssa Lesakowski layup put Geneseo on the board, Ithaca went on a 7-1 run over over the course of nearly six minutes.
 
At the 6:15 mark, Allie Tunick stole the ball and scored before senior Erin Woop netted a three pointer from the corner, following a Knights' turnover.
 
With just over four minutes left in the first quarter, Pickell hit a jumper after a Yacovoni steal, which built up an eight-point lead.
 
The Bombers took their biggest lead of the quarter on a jumper from Pickell with 42 seconds left, to go up 17-8.
 
The teams battled back-and-forth in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but IC continued to hold on to its lead. At the 7:51 mark, a Giannone shot from behind the arc put the Bombers back up by nine points before Geneseo went on a run to close the gap.
 
The Knights used a 7-0 run to cut Ithaca's lead to just two points midway through the second quarter. Kerrin Montgomery netted a jumper to start the run before Lindsay Halpin sank a layup. Natalie Alfieri hit the back end of a pair of free throws and Kelsey Poplawski scored a layup to cut Ithaca's advantage to 22-20.
 
IC went on a 6-0 run of its own to end the half with a nine-point lead. Pickell hit a jumper, followed by a Woop layup. O'Malley scored the final two points of the half on a layup with just 49 seconds left, send the Bombers into the second half with a 30-21 lead.
 
The Bombers took their first double-digit lead of the game on a pair free throws from Yacovoni at the 7:26 mark.
 
Geneseo cut IC's lead down to four following a 9-0 run. Montgomery started things off with two free throws and McKenna Brooks netted three points on an and-one play at the 4:07 mark. Brooks then stole the ball, was fouled and converted on the first of two free throws. A layup from Alfieri with 1:28 left in the third quarter brought the Bombers' lead down to 35-31.
 
Yacovoni hit back-to-back layups, off steals from Pickell and Giannone respectively, to open up the fourth quarter and give the Bombers an eight-point cushion. Another bucket from Yacovoni push the Bombers' advantage back up to 10 with 7:01 left.
 
Although the Knights brought it within six points midway through the fourth quarter, that would be the closest they would come for the remainder of the game.
 
Following Brooks' layup which cut the lead to six, Giannone drained a three-pointer to give IC a 50-41 lead. Giannone hit another jumper at the 3:29 mark to give IC a 52-41 lead.
 
Montgomery hit two free throws for Geneseo at the 1:07 mark before Brooks scored the final layup of the game with 1:02 left, cutting IC's lead to 54-47, which would hold the rest of the game.
 
The Bombers finished the game with 11 steals, 25 forced turnovers and 40 rebounds, 17 of which were offensive.
 
Ithaca is back in action tomorrow in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they will play the winner of tonight's  7 p.m. game between Tufts and Westfield State.