ITHACA, N.Y. – Ithaca College shot 53 percent from the field and held a big advantage on the boards as the first-place Bombers defeated Union College by a 78-59 score in Liberty League women's basketball action on Friday night at Ben Light Gymnasium.
 
Sophomore Amber Raisner paced Union (6-8, 3-5 Liberty League) with 16 points and four assists, followed by senior Joana Santos with 14 points and sophomore Laura Vinton with 10 points and a team-best six rebounds. Grace Cannon led first-place Ithaca (10-4, 7-1 Liberty League) with 24 points on 12-of-17 shooting and eight rebounds.
 
The Bombers shot well on the night, hitting 53.8 percent (35 of 65) of their shots, compared to 39.2 percent (20 of 51) shooting for the Dutchwomen. Ithaca also controlled the glass with a 40-23 edge in rebounding and held a decisive 48-12 edge in points in the paint.
 
The game did not start well for the visitors, as Ithaca jumped out to a 17-2 run over the first 5:03 of the contest. Union missed six of its first seven shots and turned the ball over four times during the stretch, which put the team in a deep early hole. Union made a 10-0 run on both sides of the the first-quarter break, beginning with a three-point play by sophomore Anna Metcalf and continuing with seven straight points by Santos to get within five at 25-20 early in the second.
 
A jumper by Vinton put Union within one possession at 32-29 with 4:26 left in the second stanza, but Ithaca closed the period on an 11-1 run to take a 43-30 lead into the half.
 
Union hung around in the third quarter, getting six points from Vinton and five from Raisner to keep the deficit in single digits for much of the frame until a late run put Ithaca up 60-48 headed to the fourth. But after freshman Kendall Degenhardt hit a three early in the final frame, Ithaca went on a decisive 14-3 run to take control for good.
 
Union will return to action tomorrow, when the Dutchwomen return to the Capital Region to take on Skidmore College beginning at 2 p.m. in Saratoga Springs.