ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team earned a hard-fought 65–59 victory over Fredonia on Friday night, powered by strong defensive play and balanced scoring.
 
Ithaca won the opening tip, but Fredonia struck first as Jayssa Snelick hit a jumper 1:30 into the game. After a brief back-and-forth and a steal by Ithaca's Mary Bernat, Fredonia earned two trips to the free throw line, building a 6–0 lead with 4:17 left in the first quarter. The Bombers answered with back-to-back baskets from Grace McNamara off a Tori Drevna assist and then Drevna off a feed from Aila Dervisevic. Layups from Madison Gill and Natalie Tucker, capped by an Avery McPeek buzzer-beater, tied the game at 13–13 after one.
 
The Bombers took their first lead just 37 seconds into the second quarter when McNamara hit a jumper off a Tucker assist. At the 8:05 mark, Kenzie Perluke made a key defensive stop and converted on the offensive end, giving Ithaca a 19–13 lead and forcing a Fredonia timeout. A late layup from Gill off a Madalyn Barrows assist sent the Bombers into halftime with a seven-point advantage.
 
At the break, Drevna led Ithaca with seven points, while Gill and McNamara added four points each. The Bombers' bench contributed 10 points compared to Fredonia's zero, and Ithaca's defense shined with six steals to Fredonia's one.
 
A minute into the second half, McPeek opened scoring with a layup off a pass from Gill, but Fredonia's Alexys Neckers immediately answered with a three-pointer. The teams traded baskets through the middle of the third as Ithaca worked to maintain a slim lead. At 4:24, Simone Pintinalli broke a scoring lull with a jumper, but Snelick quickly responded. Two straight layups from Perluke pushed the Bombers' lead to five with 2:26 left. Pintinalli then drilled a three off a Lily Wohlleber assist at 1:08, and Ithaca closed the quarter ahead 48–40.
 
Fredonia opened the fourth with layups from Grace Alexander and Ashley Kalvitis, cutting the Bomber lead to four. At 6:18, Neckers hit a jumper to give the Blue Devils their first lead since the opening quarter, but McNamara answered with two free throws to put Ithaca back on top, 50–49. Drevna then scored on consecutive possessions to extend the lead to 57–52, prompting a Fredonia timeout. In the final minute, Drevna found Perluke for a layup that pushed the Bombers' advantage to 62–55. Ithaca held on for a 65–59 win.
 
Tori Drevna led the Bombers with a standout performance, scoring 16 points while adding two steals, four assists, and six rebounds. Grace McNamara also made a big impact with 10 points, six rebounds, and two assists, while Kenzie Perluke contributed eight points, two steals, four assists, and three rebounds to help secure the victory.
 
With the win, Ithaca improves to 2-2 overall and return to action on Saturday as part of the Brockport Tip Off Tournament. The Bombers will square off against SUNY Brockport at 3 p.m.