Lindsey Abertelli celebrated Senior Day with 21 points in Ithaca's 52-49 win over Skidmore on Saturday afternoon. Ithaca College athletics file photo

No. 15 Ithaca held off Skidmore to stay in first place in the Liberty League while No. 8 Hardin-Simmons all but ended the race for first in the ASC. Elsewhere, the OAC and Landmark each had one ranked team rally to victory and another fall short on the road in Saturday's Division III women's basketball action.

• Saturday, Feb. 4 scoreboard: Men | Women
• Saturday men: CNU salts away victory over Slugs
• Friday: WashU sweeps Rochester in St. Louis
• More game stories: Men | Women

No. 15 Ithaca defeated Skidmore, 52-49, in a back-and-forth battle between the top two teams in the Liberty League. In a fourth quarter that had four ties and six lead changes, the Bombers pulled ahead for good with a 7-0 run keyed by Emily Dorn's go-ahead layup with four minutes remaining. Annabella Yorio followed Dorn's bucket with a layup, and then Lindsey Abertelli's three-point play pushed Ithaca's lead to 49-42.

After shooting 30 percent through the first three quarters (12 for 40), Ithaca went 8 for 16 from the field in the fourth. Abertelli posted 21 points, three blocks and two rebounds for Ithaca (18-2, 13-0 LL), which now has the season sweep and tiebreaker over the second place Thoroughbreads.

No. 8 Hardin-Simmons all-but-clinched the top spot and hosting rights for the ASC playoffs with a 67-48 win at Texas-Dallas. The Cowgirls (19-2, 14-0 ASC) led for almost the entire game, as Parris Parmer filled the stat sheet with 23 points, four rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Hardin-Simmons has a 3.5-game lead on Texas-Dallas, East Texas Baptist and Mary Hardin-Baylor with four games to play, and the Cowgirls have already swept Texas-Dallas and ETBU.

No. 5 Scranton closed the third quarter of its home game against Catholic on an 8-0 run, and then the Lady Royals closed out the Cardinals, 55-47. After Erin Doherty put Catholic in front 31-30, Scranton scored on four of its next five possessions. Sam Rajza, who had four points during that game-deciding run, finished with 19 points for Scranton (21-0, 10-0 Landmark). 

Scranton's lead in the Landmark grew to two games after Moravian upset No. 24 Elizabethtown, 75-70. Tessa Zamolyi had a double-double (27 points, 11 rebounds) for the Greyounds, who shot 46 percent from the field (26 for 56) and 82 percent from the foul line (18 for 22).

The story is similar in the OAC where Ohio Northern now has a two-game lead on Baldwin Wallace ahead of their Wednesday night matchup.

No. 13 Ohio Northern outscored Capital 28-11 in the fourth quarter and surged past the Comets in Columbus, 69-65. Abby Dickson scored 10 points off the bench for the Polar Bears, as part of their 21-6 advantage in reserve scoring. Brynn Serbin led Ohio Northern (19-2, 13-1 OAC) with 21 points. Just outside of Ohio's capital city, Otterbein knocked off No. 14 Baldwin Wallace, 58-55. Katie McCracy scored Otterbein's last seven points and finished with 15. 

No. 23 UW-Whitewater's starting lineup scored 78 points, and the Warhawks throttled No. 17 UW-Eau Claire, 84-52. Every Warhawk starter scored double figures, led by Kacie Carollo who had 22 points in 29 minutes. Aleah Grundahl tallied 20 points on 7-for-9 shooting and Abby Belschner had a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds). UW-Whitewater (17-5, 8-3 WIAC) has a one-game lead on the Blugolds and it owns the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series. UW-Stout kept pace with the Warhawks with a 70-61 win at UW-Platteville.

Wheaton (Ill.) got up early on No. 25 Millikin and ended its bid for a perfect run through the CCIW, as the Thunder beat the Big Blue, 66-48. After Millikin opened the game with a 3-2 lead, the Thunder went on a 21-3 run and never looked back. Ellie Cassel had a double-double (12 points, 14 rebounds) for Wheaton (13-8, 8-5 CCIW). The CCIW has not had an undefeated conference champion since Illinois Wesleyan went 14-0 in 2009.

Kate Herlihy's jumper gave Rowan a two-point lead late at Kean, and the Profs made enough free throws to seal a 78-76 win that pushes them into a tie for first in the NJAC. After Herlihy gave Rowan a 75-73 lead with a minute to play, Kean got two looks at a game-tying or go-ahead basket and missed both. Off the second miss, the Cougars fouled Rowan's Dakota Adams and she made both free throws. Kean pulled within one with 23 seconds to play on Brittany Graff's three, but Herlihy added another free throw and Kean came up empty on its last possession.

Ny'emah Middleton paced Rowan (15-7, 11-4 NJAC) with 19 points. Shannon McCoy scored 28 points in 40 minutes for Kean (13-9, 11-4 NJAC). New Jersey City made it a three-way tie for first in that conference by beating Rutgers-Newark, 83-65. The Gothic Knights host Rowan on Wednesday night.

SUNY New Paltz took a big step toward wrapping up the top spot in the SUNYAC playoffs, as the Hawks defeated Cortland, 64-46. SUNY New Paltz (18-3, 14-0 SUNYAC) outrebounded the Red Dragons 46-31 and rode Brianna Fitzgerald's 31 points to victory. 

Danajah Sanders and Machia Hairston combined for 49 points, 14 rebounds, seven steals and seven assists, and La Roche solidified its grasp on first place in the AMCC with an 82-72 win at Penn State-Behrend. The Redhawks effectively have a three-game lead on the second-place Nittany Lions in the standings after sweeping the regular season series.

Merchant Marine extended its lead in the Skyline Conference to two games by defeating Mount St. Mary, 75-70, in the rematch between that conference's top  teams. Katie Smith racked up 14 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for the Mariners (19-2, 14-2 Skyline) who lost on the road to Mount St. Mary in early January.

The La Verne Leopards remained spotless against Division III foes with a 78-64 win at Chapman. The Leopards converted 22 Chapman turnovers into 28 points and outrebounded the Panthers by 13. With losses by No. 25 Millikin and No. 24 Elizabethtown, La Verne could enter the Top 25 for the first time in program history when the new poll is released Monday evening.

UC Santa Cruz got a desparately needed win over a Division III opponent by downing Mary Washington, 66-55. Kaylee Murphy had a double double for the Banana Slugs (13 points, 11 rebounds) who are a potential candidate for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament but have limited opportunities to play in-division opponents in the New Year. UC Santa Cruz (16-4) will get another one tomorrow when they play No. 2 Christopher Newport.