Score: Ithaca College 63, Elmira College 42
Records: Ithaca (11-7, 7-2 Empire 8), Elmira (6-12, 3-6 Empire 8)
Location: Speidel Gymnasium – Elmira, NY

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College women's basketball team saw its brief two-game win streak snapped with a 63-42 loss to Ithaca College at home Wednesday night.

The Soaring Eagles trailed throughout the entire 40-minute contest. The Purple and Gold, who finished the game with 27 turnovers, coughed up the ball on their first five possessions, allowing the Bombers to open the game on a 7-0 run.

Ithaca extended the lead to 11 by halftime, 32-21. After Emily Green '18 scored the first points of the second half with a layup, the Bombers scored nine unanswered points to make it a 41-23 advantage. Ithaca would cruise to the 21-point victory from there.

Although the EC offense mustered only 42 points, the defense registered a season-high 13 steals, with four apiece from Green and Meghan Loya '16. The Bombers were held to 18-of-53 shooting from the floor, equaling a 34.0 field-goal percent. It's the third time in the last five contests that Elmira has limited the opposition to a shooting percentage under 35.0. In addition, Ithaca turned the ball over 20 times as a team, the second straight game in which Elmira forced 20 turnovers.

Turning Point
Perhaps the most startling disparity in the final box score was the difference in free throws. Elmira finished 4-for-7 from the foul line, marking a new season-low in made free throws. Ithaca, however, was sent to the line 37 times as the Soaring Eagles committed 26 fouls. The Bombers finished a robust 24-for-37 from the charity stripe.

Inside the Box Score

• Elmira had a tough shooting night, finishing 16-for-58 from the field (27.6 percent).
• Ithaca shot 18-for-53 from the field (34.0 percent).
• Both teams finished even in rebounding for the game with 43 apiece.
• Ithaca held a huge advantage at the free-throw line. The Bombers went 24-of-37, while the Soaring Eagles were just 4-of-7 from the charity stripe.
• EC finished with 27 turnovers, while Ithaca had 20 giveaways in the contest.
• Ithaca finished with 12 assists in the contest, while Elmira dished 10 dimes on the night.
• Both teams finished with 13 steals.
• Ithaca held a decisive 29-to-12 edge in points off turnovers.
• The Ithaca bench outscored Elmira's bench 22-to-6.
• Green and Danielle Cleary '18 both finished with a team-high 13 points, while Cleary led the Soaring Eagles with nine rebounds.
• Lindsey Heaton '19 led the Soaring Eagles with four assists.
• Ithaca's Erin Ferguson scored 10 points with 10 boards for second double-double of the season.

 
News and Notes

• With the loss, Elmira dropped both games against the Bombers this season.
• Elmira set a new season high with 13 steals. It is the third straight contest in which the team has recorded double-digit steals, each time breaking the previous season high.
• The Soaring Eagles equaled a season low in free-throw attempts (seven), while they set a new season low with only four free-throw makes in the game. The previous low was a 5-for-7 performance against SUNY Cortland on December 9th.
• Cleary has now recorded double-digit point efforts in seven consecutive games.
• Green equaled a season high with three treys. It is the second time over the last three contests in which she has made three triples.
• Although Cleary only had one free-throw attempt in the contest, the conversion was a notable one, as it was her 200th career make from the charity stripe. She currently sits in seventh all-time in program history. Her make tonight was also her 91st of the season, pulling her into a tie with Jennifer Parker '06 and Jessica Zoltowski '14 for seventh place on the all-time single-season list.
• Loya and Green both finished with a game-high four steals apiece, equaling the single-game high for an EC player this season. The four steals were a single-game career high for Loya, while it is the second time over the last three contests in which Green has pilfered the ball four times.
• Jessica Brooks '16 finished with two steals and two blocks in the contest, giving her six blocks and four steals over her last two games.

Up Next
The Elmira College women's basketball team will visit the Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, for a 3:00 p.m. matchup on Saturday, January 30th.