ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College women's basketball team earned its third Liberty League win of the season on Tuesday evening with a 66-57 victory over William Smith inside Ben Light Gymnasium. The Bombers improved to 6-7 overall and 3-3 in conference play, while the Herons fell to 2-11 and 0-6 in the league.
William Smith opened the game with a 4-0 lead before
Tori Drevna put Ithaca on the board with a jumper off an assist from
Natalie Tucker.
Zoraida Icabalceta followed with a pass to
Kenzie Perluke for a layup that cut the deficit to 8-4. Back-to-back baskets from Tucker and Drevna brought Ithaca within one at 11-10, and Tucker's deep 3-pointer gave the Bombers their first lead. Drevna added a layup to cap an 11-0 run, and Ithaca led 15-11 after the first quarter.
The Herons opened the second quarter with a three-point play, but Ithaca's defense forced a shot-clock violation and its ninth turnover of the game with 7:49 left in the half. After William Smith briefly led by five, Icabalceta answered with a floater, and Drevna buried back-to-back 3-pointers to put Ithaca ahead 25-22. Perluke added another triple, and Drevna closed the half with her third 3-pointer, giving her 15 points and Ithaca a 33-26 lead at the break.
Ithaca dominated the third quarter, opening with a layup from
Madison Gill and two free throws by
Avery McPeek to push the lead to double digits. McPeek's hustle play — grabbing two offensive rebounds before converting a layup — extended the margin to 41-29. Drevna stayed hot, drilling another 3-pointer off an assist from
Aila Dervisevic, and later Dervisevic connected from deep to make it 49-32. Ithaca closed the quarter on a tear, with baskets from Tucker and
Mary Bernat pushing the lead to 57-39 heading into the fourth.
Gill opened the final frame with a 3-pointer, and
Olivia Stevens added a free throw to make it 61-38.
Grace McNamara's steal marked Ithaca's 17th takeaway of the night, setting a season high. Drevna capped her night with her 23rd point on another 3-pointer with 6:33 remaining. William Smith closed on a 15-0 run, but Ithaca held on for the win.
Drevna finished with 23 points, seven steals, four assists and four rebounds. Bernat added six points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and five blocks. Perluke scored nine points with two steals.
Ithaca forced 29 turnovers and scored 22 points off those miscues. The Bombers shot 9-for-24 from 3-point range and were 11-of-12 from the charity stripe.
Ithaca returns to action Friday, January 16, hosting RPI at Ben Light Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.
