ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team is Sweet 16 bound after defeating No. 14 St. Joseph's (Maine), 74-63, on Saturday evening.
 
Ithaca is now 24-5 on the season and will be playing in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014. With the win, Head Coach Dan Raymond captures his 400^th win since taking over the Bombers' program during the 2000-01 season.
 
Senior Annie Giannone led the Bombers with 22 points – tying her career-high – while dishing out nine assists and grabbing five rebounds. Junior KellyAnne O'Reilly also had a career day, netting 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including 5-for-7 from 3-point range. Junior Cassidy O'Malley finished with 12 points and four blocks on the day.
 
The Bombers came out firing on all cylinders to outscore the Monks 50-29 in the first half.
 
After a fairly even start to the game, the Bombers went on a run in the final three minutes to build up a double-digit lead.
 
Giannone started things off with the first bucket of the game, which turned into eight points in the first quarter and 18 points in the first half.
 
With 3:38 remaining in the first, St. Joseph's Kelsi McNamara hit a pair of free throws to tie things up at 11 apiece, but IC responded with a 12-0 run.
 
Giannone put in a layup at 3:09 before senior Sara Jackson drained a shot from distance to give the Bombers a 16-11 edge. Abbi Field hit a jumper and O'Reilly hit the first of her five 3-pointers to extend IC's lead to 21-11 with 1:31 on the clock. Sophomore Megan Yawman hit a pair of free throws to add to Ithaca's lead entering the final minute.
 
The Bombers had a monster second quarter in which they outscored the Monks 25-16.
 
St. Joseph's went on an 8-0 run starting at 7:58 to cut Ithaca's advantage down to four-points, 25-21. The Bombers, however, responded with five straight points, including a Giannone 3-pointer with 5:06 remaining.
 
A layup from O'Malley with 4:17 on the clock started a nine-point run for the Bombers, which extended their lead back up double-figures. Giannone added a bucket just 20 seconds later and Yawman drained a shot from behind the arc with 3:09 left to give the Bombers a 13-point, 37-24 advantage.
 
O'Reilly went on to hit two more 3-pointers in the final 2:27 which gave Ithaca a 21-point lead at the half. Her final 3-pointer of the half with 29 seconds left sent IC into the break with a 50-29 lead.
 
The Bombers shot 58.1 percent (18-for-31) in the first half as well as 46.2 percent from 3-point range. Giannone's was a perfect 7-for-7 for 18 points as well as six assists.
 
Ithaca's defense in the first half held the Monks to 28 percent (7-for-25) from the floor as well as 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) from three.
 
The Bombers came out of the break and continued to hold a near 20-point lead for much of the third quarter. They took a 22-point lead – their biggest of the game – on a free throw from Grace Cannon just 44 seconds in.
 
After the exchanged baskets for the next few minutes, Cannon once again lifted IC to a 22-point, 55-33, lead with 7:24 remaining in the third on a layup.
 
It was not until the final 2:35 that the Monks started to gain some offensive momentum. They ended the third quarter on a 9-2 run, with eight points from McNamara. She started it off with a 3-pointer at 2:35, before putting in a layup with 35 seconds left and draining another 3-pointer with just three seconds left on the clock. The run cut IC's advantage to 63-49, the closest the Monks had come since early in the second quarter.
 
St. Joseph's put up a fight in the final quarter, but could not come any closer than nine points.
 
McNamara drained a 3-pointer with 7:59 left before hitting a pair of free throws. Julie Champagne completed the 7-0 Monks' run with a jumper at 5:41, which cut IC's lead to 65-56.
 
O'Reilly continued to dominant on offense for the Bombers, however, hitting a jumper followed by a 3-pointer with 3:15 left, pushing Ithaca's lead back up to 14-points, 70-56.
 
McNamara came through again for the Monks, hitting two free throws and a 3-pointer with 1:18 left to cut it back down to a nine-point deficit, but that would be as close as they would get.
 
McNamara scored 25 in the second half to finish with a game-high 30 points. Champagne finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
 
Ithaca moves on to the Sweet 16 where they will play DeSales at a site to be determined tomorrow. The Bombers will be in a pod with SUNY New Paltz and Bowdoin, who will also play each other.