ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team ended its season with a 69-61 loss in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday evening. The Bombers conclude the season with a 23-6 record while Williams improves to 20-8 and moves on to next weekend's Sweet 16.
 
Seniors Cassidy O'Malley and KellyAnne O'Reilly concluded their careers on South Hill with double-doubles. O'Malley led all scorers with 24 points and 10 rebounds while O'Reilly scored 12 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds.
 
Junior Grace Cannon also reached double-digits with 12 points and was just short of a double-double with eight rebounds.
 
After exchanging baskets in the opening minutes of the first half, Ithaca went on a 6-0 run to go up 10-5 with 6:07 on the clock.
 
Sophomore Cara Volpe started the run with a layup, followed by buckets from Cannon off an offensive rebound and junior Megan Yawman. The Bombers ultimately took their biggest lead of the quarter, 16-8 at 1:51, back-to-back layups from O'Reilly.
 
The Ephs closed out the first quarter with six-straight points from Morgan Dauk, Maggie Meehan and Maddy Mandyck, cutting Ithaca's lead to just 16-14.
 
The second quarter would go on to be tied five different times, starting with the first basket from Williams' Mandyck to knot it up at 16 points apiece.
 
It wasn't until the final 2:27 of the quarter that Ithaca was able to get a lead and hold onto it.
 
Volpe hit a layup at 2:27 to break the tie and give Ithaca a 26-24 edge. O'Reilly hit a pair of a free throws and a layup to push the advantage to 30-26. Ultimately, Williams' Mikaela Topper hit a 3-pointer with 44 seconds remaining to send the Bombers' into the half with a one-point, 30-29, lead.
 
The second half proved to be tough for Ithaca, as the Bombers recorded 12 team turnovers through that time.
 
The Bombers held on to a lead in the opening minutes, leading by three points two different times.
 
With 7:39 on the clock, Williams' Meehan converted on an and-one play to tie things up at 36. The game would go on to be tied up three more times through the quarter.
 
With 5:28 remaining, Meehan hit a jumper to break the tie and give the Ephs a 44-42 advantage. The Bombers would never regain the lead after that.
 
Williams went on to build up a six-point lead, twice, through as the clock ticked down. Dauk netted a layup with 1:50 remaining, giving the Ephs a 51-45 lead. The Bombers ultimately went on to cut it down to just four at the conclusion of the third quarter.
 
The Ephs started to create some distance in the fourth quarter, opening up with a pair of free throws from Meehan. A Gabby Martin layup with 7:22 remaining push the Ephs' advantage to 56-48.
 
Williams finally took a double-digit lead, 62-52, midway through the quarter as Meehan stole the ball and laid it in. The 10-point lead was the largest for either team throughout the game.
 
A layup from O'Reilly followed by a steal from O'Malley which resulted in a layup, foul and free throw, cut the Eph's lead down to five points, 62-57, with 1:13 remaining. The Bombers, however, could not come any closer than five points before the buzzer sounded.
 
The Bombers shot 25-for-66 (37.9 percent) on the day and outrebounded Williams 48-35.
 
The Ephs had four players finish with double-figures, led by Meehan's 18. Topper finished with 16 while Mandy recorded a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds. Dauk netted 11 points off the bench.
 
Williams advances to the Sweet 16 next weekend at a site to be determined.