Score: Ithaca College 98 – Elmira College 54
Records: Ithaca (13-3, 5-2 E8), Elmira (5-9, 2-4 E8)
Location: Speidel Gymnasium – Elmira, N.Y.
 
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College women's basketball team fell at the hands of Empire 8 Conference foe Ithaca College, 98-54, on Saturday afternoon. It was a tale of two offenses that decided tonight's matchup, as the  Bombers finished the contest with a 56.6 field goal percentage and the Soaring Eagles finished with a 30.6 field goal percentage. This proved to be EC's downfall, as the team struggled to keep pace with Ithaca for the entire night. 

The Soaring Eagles shooting struggles started in the first half of play. As a team, EC shot 9-for-31(29.0-percent) from the field in the first 20 minutes. On the other side of the court, Ithaca scored with ease, as it went 24-for-36 (66.7-percent) from the floor in the first half.

Despite the rough half, Danielle Cleary '18 and Lauren Franklin '20 were bright spots for the Elmira offense, as the duo combined for 19 of EC's 24 first-half points.

The second half mirrored the first, as the Bombers continued their offensive onslaught, as they grew the lead to as much as 45 points, 88-53. The Soaring Eagle defense was unable to figure out a way to stop the Ithaca attack on its way to the 98-54 loss.

Cleary lead the way for Elmira with a team-leading 19 points. Freshman forward, Franklin, posted another strong performance with 13 points and nine boards. Lindsey Heaton '19 rounded out the EC double-digit scorers with 11 points. Rachel Vespucci '19 finished one point shy recording a double-double with nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds. 

Turning Point
From the opening tip, the Soaring Eagles struggled to find a way to slow down the Ithaca offense. With a 0.667 first-half field goal percentage and a 0.565 field goal percentage for the game, the Bombers seemed to score at will. Elmira started to score more in the second half, with a team-high 17 points in the third quarter, but it was too late, as Ithaca's lead had grown to as high as 43 in the quarter. When you factor in EC's difficulty scoring, the Bombers were able to cruise to the 98-54 victory.
 
Inside the Box Score

• The Soaring Eagles struggled to find their stroke for the entire contest, as they shot 19-for-62 (30.6%) from the floor.
• However, the Bombers had no trouble scoring the ball, as they went 39-for-69 (56.5%) from the field.
• EC did not fare any better from distance, as the team went 3-for-14 (21.4%) from deep.
• The battle on the boards was very close, as Elmira out-rebounded Ithaca 42-39.
• The Soaring Eagles committed 24 turnovers and they forced 18 Bomber infractions.
• Cleary paced Elmira with a team-leading 19 points.
• Franklin finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards.
• Heaton with 11 points rounded out the EC double-digit scorers.
• Vespucci also finished the contest just shy of recording a double-double with nine points and a game-high 13 boards.
• Jordan Beers paced all scorers with a game-high 23 points.
• Ithaca's Annie Giannone posted a game-high five assists.

 
News and Notes

• Elmira's overall record fell to 5-9 and its E8 record drops to 2-4.
• The Bombers improved their lead in the all-time series against the Soaring Eagles to 48-11.
• Ithaca's 98 points are the most by an Elmira opponent since SUNY Geneseo scored 118 points in the 1993-94 season.
• The Bombers' 0.565 field goal percentage was the second highest by an Elmira opponent.
• With 19 points today, Cleary moves closer to the 1,000-point milestone, with 973 career points.
• Heaton extended her streak of scoring double-digit points to six-straight games.
• Vespucci fell just shy of posting her eighth double-double of the season.
• Franklin has now scored at least 13 points in her last two games.
• Franklin has also grabbed at least nine rebounds in the last three contests.

 
Up Next
Elmira continues conference play when it welcomes E8 adversary Nazareth College to Speidel Gymnasium on Tuesday, January 24th. The game is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m.