GORHAM, Maine  – Senior forward Devin Shea (Huntingdon Valley, Pa.) scored a game-high 20 points to lead three players in double-figures as the nationally-ranked Ithaca College Bombers defeated the Smith College Pioneers 73-50 in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball National Championship Tournament Saturday night at Hill Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Southern Maine.

With the win, the Bombers improve to 27-2 and advance to the 'Sweet 16' of the NCAA tournament.  Ithaca will learn its next opponent and site of game on Sunday.  The loss concludes the season for Smith College at 23-5.

                Shea was 8-for-15 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds.  Junior guard Mary Kate Tierney (Rochester, N.Y.) and junior forward Jenn Escobido (Lisbon, Conn.) each posted double-doubles for the Bombers.  Tierney had 13 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.  Escobido was a monster on the offensive glass grabbing seven offensive rebounds as part of her game-high 15 to go along with 11 points.  Escobido's dominance on the glass helped the Bombers to an outstanding 55-32 rebounding edge, which led to 22 second-chance points.

Senior guard Amanda Zakoske (Jacksonville, Fla.) led the Pioneers with 16 points and nine rebounds on 5-for-11 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.  Sophomore guard Paulina Solis (Santa Ana, Calif.) was the only other Smith player in double-figures with 10 points.  Solis added four steals. 

Ithaca shot 45.9 percent (17-for-37) from the field in the first half and jumped out to a commanding 39-19 lead at the break.  Shea scored 14 of her 20 in the opening half, while Escobido had already racked up a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, including three offensive boards. 

Ithaca led wire-to-wire with Ecobido sinking a jumper for the first points of the game and the Bombers never looked back en route to the win. Ithaca led by a modest four points (11-7) five minutes into the game before going on a 16-3 tear over a seven-minute period to take a commanding 27-10 lead with 8:32 to play. Smith cut its deficit to 12 points (31-19) on a three from Solis at the 4:25 mark, but the Bombers closed out the half with eight unanswered points for the 39-19 halftime score.

Ithaca opened the second half outscoring Smith 13-6 in the first six minutes to take its largest lead of the game 52-25 with 14:09 to play and maintained a comfortable 23-27 point advantage over the next five minutes.  Trailing  54-29 with 9:28 on the clock, the Pioneers made a rush at Ithaca with an 11-2 run to pull to within 16 of the Bombers capped by a Solis three at the 6:02 mark, but Ithaca pulled away with a quick 5-0 run to regain a 21-point lead 61-40 with 4:39 to play.  From there Ithaca held for the win.