ITHACA, N.Y. — Ithaca pushed St. Lawrence to the final buzzer before falling 58-55 in a tightly contested Liberty League women's basketball game Friday evening inside Ben Light Gymnasium.
 
The Bombers set the tone early as Madison Gill opened the scoring with a 3-pointer off a Tori Drevna assist. Gill followed moments later with a defensive block to preserve the early 3-0 lead. St. Lawrence answered with a hook shot in the paint, but Ithaca continued to attack the basket in a back-and-forth opening quarter.
 
Grace McNamara and Gill each scored on layups to put the Bombers in front 9-8 with three minutes remaining in the first. St. Lawrence closed the quarter with a late push, however, and Ithaca trailed 15-9 after the first stanza.
 
Tori Drevna jump started the Bombers in the second quarter with a turnaround jumper, and Mary Bernat added a layup off a McNamara assist. Bernat later converted two free throws as Ithaca stayed within striking distance midway through the period. McNamara continued her strong play inside, scoring again to pull the Bombers within 30-26 at halftime.
 
Ithaca opened the second half with momentum as Zoraida Icabalceta scored just 10 seconds into the third quarter. As the Saints attempted to extend the lead, Bernat finished another layup with help from Gill to give the Bombers their 30^th point of the evening. Natalie Tucker snapped a four-minute scoring drought midway through the quarter, and Simone Pintinalli followed with a basket to bring Ithaca within three. Icabalceta capped the period with a layup at the horn, cutting the deficit to one (40-39) entering the fourth.
 
Gill sparked the Bombers again in the final quarter, scoring on a layup with 7:35 remaining. Pintinalli added a key 3-pointer midway through the quarter, and Gill later knocked down another triple to make it 54-49 with 3:27 to play. Icabalceta scored inside with 1:58 left as Ithaca continued to pressure, but St. Lawrence sealed the game at the free throw line in the closing seconds.

Madison Gill led Ithaca with 12 points, while McNamara added nine. The Bombers outscored St. Lawrence 29-28 in the second half but came up just short despite multiple late opportunities.
 
With the loss, the Bombers fall to 7-13 overall and 4-9 within Liberty League play. They return to action tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. when they host Clarkson University.