ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca women’s basketball team (18-9) lost 59-57 to Stevens Institute of Technology (22-5) Saturday in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament final.
The Ducks and Bombers battled down to the wire in the third meeting of the season between the two squads where neither team has won by more than two points in any meeting. Stevens held a five point advantage in the final minute of the game until junior guard Katherine Bixby hit a three-pointer to bring the score to 57-55 with 11 seconds to play. The Ducks converted on both free throws in the ensuing possession. Bixby then drove the length of the court to make a lay-up which brought the score to 59-57 with two seconds to play. Empire 8 Player of the Year Dani Dudek missed the front end of the free-throw on the one-and-one bonus but Ithaca could not manage to get off a shot before the buzzer sounded.
Freshman guard Melissa Collier was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player as she scored a game-high 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds. She connected on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and made 5-of-7 from the free-throw line including the game’s deciding two points. Dudek also reached double-figure point totals with 12 and recorded seven rebounds and four assists.
Sophomore guard Jordan Confessore led the Bombers with a career-best 17 point effort on 5-of-8 shooting, including three field-goals from beyond the arc. Confessore paced the team during a 10-0 run in the first half where she scored all 10 Ithaca points during the two-minute stretch. She added a career-high nine rebounds and distributed three assists. Bixby also recorded double-figures in point totals for the Bombers as she netted 16 to go along with five rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
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