Jackets’ Comeback Falls Short at Ithaca

ITHACA, NY – Though the ‘Jackets were twice able to cut the deficit to six over the final four minutes, the University of Rochester women’s basketball fell to the Ithaca College Bombers, 62-54 on Wednesday evening at Ben Light Gymnasium.

After a slow start that saw just three points over the first 5:02 of play, Trinity Johnson’s and-one at the 4:29 mark of the first leveled the score at four-all. Back-to-back layups from Elizabeth Majka and Camryn Coffey helped Ithaca retake the lead, as the two sides would trade buckets for much of the second half of the first quarter.

But after Abby Gress’ three-pointer, cut the Bombers’ lead to just one, 12-11, with 1:45 left in the first, the Bombers would go on a 7-0 run to end the period, taking a 19-11 lead into the second.

Graycen Dubin then kept things rolling for Ithaca in the second, nailing a triple that extended the lead to 11, 22-11, just over a minute into the quarter. The Bombers would continue their charge from the first quarter into the second, opening the period with a 12-2 run after ending the first on a 7-0 run.

In total, the Bombers outscored UR, 19-2, over a seven-and-a-half minute stretch, as the ‘Jackets went 0-for-9 from the field and didn’t score their first field goal till the four-minute mark of the second.

Buckets by Hannah Polce, Anya Watkins and Junie Dickson extended Ithaca’s lead to 31-13, its largest of the night before Callie McCulley broke the Yellowjackets’ scoring drought with her fast-break layup from Gress with 4:02 left in the first half.

McCulley’s layup would get UR’s offense going though, as the graduate student added another layup less than 30 seconds later to trim the Bombers’ lead to 14 before layups by Gress and Hannah Lindemuth made it a 10-point game with 2:02 until the halftime buzzer.

After the Bombers opened the quarter with a big run, the ‘Jackets would end the half with a run of their own, closing the deficit to just 10, 33-23, with a 10-2 run, capped off by another bucket from Lindemuth to beat the buzzer and send Rochester into the locker room with some momentum.

The Yellowjackets would keep things close for much of the third, trading buckets with the Bombers throughout the first half of the period, before Lindemuth knocked down her first three to pull the ‘Jackets within six, 40-36, with 3:01 left in the third.

Ithaca would answer with two quick points of their own, stretching its lead back out to 10, before Kat Jenks sank a three to make it a seven-point game, and Watkins and Lindemuth traded buckets to send Rochester into the final frame, down 46-39.

In the fourth quarter, Rochester would twice cut the deficit down to six, first at the 4:07 mark following Claire Grownewoud’s 1-for-2 trip and the line, and McCulley’s layup off an offensive rebound, and then again just over a minute-and-a-half later after back-to-back buckets from Gress and Jenks.

However, with UR trailing 58-52, the ‘Jackets would go cold for an extended stretch, unable to further cut into the Bombers lead.

Off a steal by Gress on the ensuing possession, the ‘Jackets turned it over, and after Gress notched yet another steal, one of five for her on the night, Lindemuth and Gress both couldn’t connect from three, keeping the Bombers in front by six.

Finally, after the ‘Jackets missed another three, Rochester would be forced to foul with under a minute left, and Ithaca would hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Dickson went 2-for-2 at the line with 41 seconds left to make it an eight-point game, and after a turnover, Annabella Yorio knocked down 1-of-2 to stretch the lead to nine. Rochester would pull within seven on a late layup by Franki Gomez, but it’d prove to be too little, too late, as Yorio added one more at the line to finish off the 62-54 victory.

The Yellowjackets drop to 3-4 with the loss, while Ithaca moves to 6-2 with the win.

Gress led UR with 16 points, adding seven rebounds, five steals and four assists, while Lindemuth added nine points. McCulley led the ‘Jackets on the glass with 14 rebounds, adding seven points.

As a team, the ‘Jackets shot just 34.9 percent (22-for-63), 3-for-20 from three-point range and 7-for-14 from the free-throw line, while Ithaca shot just a tick higher at 37.1 percent (26-for-70).

Rochester is back in action for one final time inside the Louis Alexander Palestra this calendar year when they host Hamilton College on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 1:00 p.m.