ITHACA, N.Y. — The Ithaca College women's basketball team used a strong defensive effort and a dominant second half to pull away from Skidmore, earning a 64–47 Liberty League win on Friday night at Ben Light Gymnasium.
Skidmore struck first after an early Ithaca foul put the Thoroughbreds on the line for free throws, but the Bombers responded quickly.
Tori Drevna buried her first three‑point attempt of the night to give Ithaca a 3–1 lead, and
Grace McNamara followed with a jumper to push the margin to 5–1. The Bombers continued their early surge as Drevna and
Zoraida Icabalceta converted on back‑to‑back possessions, stretching the advantage to eight less than five minutes into the game.
Icabalceta added another basket with 3:54 left in the opening quarter, but Skidmore answered with consecutive makes to trim the deficit to 11–5. The teams traded stops late, and Ithaca closed the first quarter with a 15–10 lead.
Skidmore opened the second quarter with a free throw, but Ithaca once again pushed back. With 6:35 remaining in the half,
Mary Bernat hit a pair of free throws to make it 16–13, and
Natalie Tucker followed with a deep three to extend the lead to six. Bernat continued to anchor the defensive effort, delivering a key block before Tucker forced a turnover on the next possession.
Simone Pintinalli then drained her first three‑point attempt of the night with 3:30 left, and Bernat knocked down a mid‑range jumper in the final minutes to push the lead to nine. Ithaca carried a steady 26–17 advantage into halftime.
The Bombers came out firing in the third quarter behind McNamara, who opened the half with a tough layup to give Ithaca its first double‑digit lead. McNamara knocked down another jumper moments later and added two free throws as the Bombers' lead ballooned to 30–17. Pintinalli stayed hot, drilling back‑to‑back threes—including one off a Bernat assist—as Ithaca built a 41–26 cushion. Drevna added her 11th point of the night off another Bernat feed, and Icabalceta and
Madison Gill combined for three more points at the line. Ithaca controlled the frame 20–13 and entered the fourth up 46–30.
Icabalceta kept the momentum rolling just over a minute into the fourth, knocking down a three to stretch the lead to 19. Drevna added two more from the stripe, and McNamara powered in back‑to‑back layups at the 6:36 and 6:09 marks to push the advantage to 55–35—matching Ithaca's largest lead of the night. Skidmore attempted a late push, closing the gap to 55–40, but Icabalceta answered with another three in the final two minutes.
Avery McPeek capped the scoring with a jumper in the final 20 seconds as Ithaca closed out the 64–47 victory.
McNamara led Ithaca with a double‑double, while Drevna, Icabalceta, and Pintinalli all finished in double figures. The Bombers shot 7‑for‑21 from three and forced 14 steals, converting turnovers into key scoring stretches that shaped the outcome.
Ithaca returns to action on Saturday when they welcome Vassar College to town for a Senior Day matchup scheduled for 2 p.m. The three seniors will be honored prior to tip-off.
