Olivia Parisi scored a game-high 19 points, grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and dished out three assists for William Smith College, but a balanced and deep Ithaca College squad left Bristol Gym with a 75-55 Liberty League women’s basketball win Friday.
Parisi was 7-of-17 from the floor and the league’s leading free throw shooter made all five of her attempts at the stripe. Brooke Jarvis contributed 16 points, five boards and two blocked shots. She was 6-of-11 shooting with three 3-pointers.
The Bombers got twin 15-point efforts from Grace Cannon and Carla Volpe. Emily Dorn chipped in 12 points off the bench. Ithaca shot 40.7% from the floor and made all five of its free throws in the game. The Bombers controlled the glass, outrebounding the Herons 48-39. Ithaca also committed 12 fewer turnover, enjoying a 26-6 scored edge in points off turnovers.
William Smith ended the first quarter with a 16-15 advantage on the scoreboard after shooting 41.7% from the floor in the opening 10 minutes while limiting the Bombers to 26.1% shooting.
Ithaca flipped the script in the second quarter, shooting 52.6% from the floor while holding William Smith to 23.1%. The Bombers surged into the lead by scoring the first eight points of the quarter, part of an 18-2 run to start the frame. Volpe and Cannon both scored six points during the run.
Ithaca led 35-24 at the break. Volpe led all scorers with 13 points.
Parisi opened the second half scoring with an old fashion 3-point play and Jarvis followed with a hook shot to pull the Herons within six, 35-29. Volpe halted the run with a driving layup that was followed by a 3-pointer from Camryn Coffey to restore the visitors’ 11-point edge.
Parisi and Jarvis teamed up for another five-point push, this time Jarvis hit a 3-pointer and Parisi made a layup off an offensive board, drawing the Bombers lead down to six again. However, this time, Ithaca answered with a 23-7 run that spanned the rest of the third quarter and broke the game wide open.
Ithaca led by at least 19 points throughout the fourth quarter on the way to its ninth straight win.
William Smith (4-11, 3-6) will be home again Saturday afternoon, hosting RIT (8-7, 5-5) at 2 p.m. The Tigers won 71-58 at Skidmore tonight. Ithaca (14-3, 9-1) will be at RPI (3-11, 2-7) tomorrow at 2 p.m.
