ITHACA, N.Y. – The Skidmore College women's basketball team captured a much-needed road win in dramatic fashion, erasing a 13-point, second-half deficit to clip Ithaca by a 61-59 score in Liberty League action at Ben Light Gymnasium Friday evening.
 
Skidmore (6-14, 5-8 Liberty League) remains in the postseason hunt with the victory, sitting in seventh place in the league standings. Skidmore ensures a season split with the Bombers and have won the last two road contests against Ithaca. The Bombers (15-4, 10-2) see their seven-game win streak come to an end.
 
Skidmore fought to keep pace with Ithaca after the Bombers opened the game with an eight-point, 17-8 lead. Clare Driscoll began the Skidmore run with a 3-pointer, then after a pair of Cassidy O'Malley free throws, Taylor Ong converted on the three-point play to bring the deficit to 19-14. Near the end of the period, a Jessica Centore put-back with six seconds left gave Skidmore a three-point, 19-16 deficit, but Megan Yawman beat the buzzer on the other end with a running jumper to give Ithaca a 21-16 lead.
 
Ithaca grew its lead early in the period, but Skidmore worked to get the deficit back to five (26-21) on an uncontested fast break layup by Ong. Ithaca would continue to pull ahead, leading 33-26 at the half and stretching its lead to as many as 13 points (39-26) early in the third. The Thoroughbreds stayed patient, slowly cutting into the deficit, getting under double digits at the end of the third quarter, trailing 47-39.
 
It was on for the Thoroughbreds from there as the fourth quarter began. Lily Berg began the period with a jumper and Kate McCarney nailed a 3-pointer on their next possession, quickly cutting the deficit to three. Not too long after, Centore completed the 8-0 run, hitting a three of her own to tie the game at 47.
 
Ithaca went back ahead with a Meghan Pickell jumper, but McCarney kept the Skidmore monsoon going with another trey to give Skidmore its first lead of the half, 50-49. The Bombers would score four straight points, but the Thoroughbreds answered with strong pressure in the passing lanes, beating Ithaca at its own game. A Clare Driscoll steal turned into a Centore bucket to reduce the deficit to one, then after a steal by Haley English, McCarney converted on a pair of free throws to retake a one-point, 54-53 lead with 2:39 to go.
 
Ithaca took the lead one last time at 55-54, before a Haley free throw with 1:26 to go gave Skidmore the lead for good. Berg would extend Skidmore's lead to three with 33 seconds left, and a technical foul called on Ithaca would eventually push Skidmore to a crucial four-point lead.
 
Ithaca had one final chance to win the game in the final seconds. After Annie Giannone scored to make it 61-59, the Bombers sent English to the line for two free throws. Haley missed the pair and Ithaca got one last chance with a half-court shot by Giannone. Her shot went wide as the Skidmore players erupted in celebration.
 
In all, a 22-12 fourth quarter advantage was what the Thoroughbreds needed to complete the comeback. Skidmore shot 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from the field and 60 percent (3-for-5) from 3-point range in the fourth.
 
Ong led the Thoroughbreds with 17 points and eight rebounds. Centore filled the stat sheet with 13 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals, and one blocked shot. McCarney added 13 points, going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. She added four rebounds and three assists.
 
Grace Cannon led Ithaca with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Giannone added 11 points and five assists.
 
The Thoroughbreds will make the long trip to Bard tomorrow at 2 p.m. Ithaca will host RPI tomorrow, also at 2 p.m.