Potsdam, NY – For the second time in a month, Ithaca was able to pull away in the fourth quarter from an otherwise tightly contested game, as the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team dropped a 71-56 decision to Ithaca College in Liberty League action Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights fell to 9-14 overall and 5-11 in the conference, officially getting eliminated from postseason play with the defeat. Ithaca firmed up its position in the Liberty League standings with the win, its 13th straight in conference, to move to 16-7 and 15-1. Clarkson is on the road for the final two games of the regular season, playing Rensselaer and Skidmore.

Starting four shorter guards against Ithaca's already taller team, the Knights nevertheless started off well, taking an 8-5 lead after Raelin Burns hit a jumper at 5:54. Ithaca quickly responded with an 8-0 run, keyed by a 3-pointer from Tori Drevna and capped by a layup from Annabella Yorko. The margin would stick around that size through the end of the period as the Knights trailed by four through the first 10 minutes.

Neither team was particularly strong with the ball in the half, as each committed 13 turnovers, some of them proving costly to both sides. Ithaca was able to push its lead to nine at 5:07 when Elizabeth Majka had a layup-and-one, and four minutes later an Anya Watkins jumper put the margin at 12 points. However, Clarkson was sparked by Lexi Huiatt in the final minute as the senior guard first got a layup with about 30 seconds to go, then forced a turnover and produced a fast break layup to reduce the gap to eight. Huiatt again jumped a passing lane for another steal, allowing Raelin Burns to get some space at the 3-point line for a make at the buzzer, and the score was just 34-29 at the break.

 Both teams began the second half slow, combining for just three points in the first four minutes of the third quarter. At that point, Cassidy Dumont got hot from the outside, scoring her first basket of the game at 5:37 to get the Knights within two. Those would be far from her last points in the quarter, as only 2:30 later she had 13 total in the quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers and a layup-and-one. However, none of those makes would ever put Clarkson in the lead, as the Bombers always had a response at the other end and still led by three at the end of the period.

After a Raelin Burns 3-pointer a minute into the fourth brought Clarkson within one, Ithaca slowly pulled away with the key makes coming from Zoraida Icabalceta, the second giving the Bombers a nine-point advantage with less than three minutes left in the game. Elizabeth Majka got on the inside to put Clarkson down by 11 with a little over two minutes left, putting the Knights in a hole from which they could not recover.

Raelin Burns led the Golden Knights with 16 points while Cassidy Dumont added 15 points. Five finished in double figures for Ithaca, led by Zoraida Icabalceta's 15 points. Emma Waite also chipped in 14 points for the Bombers.