ITHACA, N.Y. – The women’s basketball team (18-8) erased two regular-season losses to St. John Fisher by eliminating the fourth-seeded Cardinals (16-10) from the Empire 8 Championship Tournament with a 75-57 rout Friday. The Bombers, the only team to have qualified for every Empire 8 playoff, will face either second-seeded Utica or third-seeded Stevens Saturday at 7 p.m. with the Empire 8’s automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs at stake.
Senior guard Katherine Bixby (Germantown Friends/Philadelphia, Pa.) scored 23 points to lead four Bombers in double-digit scoring. She added two steals and two assists and moved into fifth on the program’s career list by raising her total to 265 assists.
Ithaca closed the game on a 23-5 run after the Cardinals closed to within 52-47 on a three-pointer by guard Colleen Maloney (Liverpool/Liverpool).
Senior forward Tracy Bradley (Brunswick/Lewiston, Maine) scored 15 points, junior guard Lindsay Brown (Immaculate/Danbury, Conn.) added 13 and senior guard Megan Rumschik (Williamsville East/Amherst) finished with 10 as the Bombers improved to 7-3 all-time in Empire 8 Championship Tournament play. Ithaca’s fifth starter, sophomore forward Elissa Klie (Ramapo/Wyckoff, N.J.) added eight points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Cardinals, who recorded wins of 18 and 13 points during the regular season, were led by forward Kristen Taliento (Rush-Henrietta/Henrietta), who scored 12 points. Senior guard Meagan Tubbs (Ticonderoga/Ticonderoga) added 10 points off the bench; Maloney and sophomore guard Stephanie Sweeney (Colonie/Albany) netted nine points apiece.
The Bombers improved to 92-2 when scoring at least 70 points over the past 10 years.
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