ITHACA, N.Y. – On Friday evening, the No. 18/19 ranked Ithaca College women's basketball team defeated La Roche University by a 58-42 final as the Bombers will now move onto the Second Round of the 2023 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament.
The Bombers got off to a fast start by going on a 7-0 scoring run before La Roche finally got on the board with 6:13 left to play in the first quarter. This scoring run included a layup by Cara Volpe, a layup, jumper, and foul shot for Hannah Polce. At the end of the first quarter, the Bombers had a 14-8 lead over La Roche.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Starting the first half hot�� <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GoBombers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GoBombers</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/More?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#More</a> <a href="https://t.co/iXViRheN1t">pic.twitter.com/iXViRheN1t</a></p>— Ithaca Women's Basketball (@IthacaWBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/IthacaWBB/status/1631829490832736256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In the second quarter, the Bombers continued to stay in front by taking a 26-17 lead into the locker room at halftime. For the first half, La Roche was 6-for-19 (31.58%) in the field goal department, 0-for-2 in 3-pointers, and 5-for-8 (62.5%) in free throws. Both Danajah Sanders and Diamond-Jay Whittington led La Roche with 4 points scored. The Bombers outrebounded the visiting Red Hawks by 12 on the offensive side of things, which enabled them second chance scoring opportunities.
The Bombers kept their foot on the gas in this quarter as they took a commanding 41-26 lead. Emily Dorn had eight points scored in the quarter on two layups and four made free throws. Meanwhile, La Roche spread the wealth out among the team with layups by Whittington and Sanders, free throws by Abram and Jackson, and a 3-pointer by Abram.
As the clock ticked down in the third quarter and made way into the fourth quarter, the Bombers went on an 11-0 scoring run to open the period. This was highlighted by two jumpers and a free throw from Emily Dorn and a jumper from both Lindsey Albertelli and Cara Volpe. Ithaca cruised down the stretch as they led by double digits.
Danajah Sanders led La Roche with 12 total points scored in tonight's contest while Emily Dorn led Ithaca with 14 tonight and leads the team in points scored overall this season with 259. La Roche was 14-for-46 (30.4%) in the field goal department, 1-for-7 (14.3%) on 3-pointers, and 13-for-23 (56.5%) on free throws. The Bombers were 22-for-58 (37.9%) in the field goal department, 2-for-14 (14.3%) on 3-pointers, and 12-for-18 (66.7%) on free throws.
Ithaca College will now host Marietta College in Ben Light Gymnasium at 7:15 p.m. on Saturday for their Second Round matchup. Marietta beat Eastern Connecticut State 61-57 earlier today for the right to play the Bombers tomorrow night.