ITHACA, NY – University of Rochester women's basketball notched its fourth-straight win, defeating the Ithaca College Bombers, 80-70 on Tuesday evening inside Ben Light Gymnasium.
 
The Yellowjackets led for all but 27 seconds of the contest, leading by as many as 16 points with 3:04 left in the fourth before finishing off the 10-point victory, their fourth-straight win by a double-digit margin.
 
Grace Corelli got Rochester on the scoreboard first, opening the scoring with one of four made triples on the evening for the sophomore, as the 'Jackets scored the first five points of the contest before Tori Drevna got the Bombers on the board.
 
Drevna's three-pointer cut the Yellowjackets' early lead to 5-3 just shy of three minutes into the contest, but Corelli answered with her second three on the other end to put the 'Jackets back up five, 8-3, with 6:44 left in the first.
 
Just shy of two minutes later, Mary Bernat's layup cut Rochester's lead down to one, 13-12, but the URochester would end the first quarter on a 7-0 run, holding the Bombers without a bucket over the final 2:43 of the frame.
 
Annelise Dexter answered Bernart's layup with one of her own, and after a turnover by Bernat on the other end, Dexter made it a four-point game, going 1-for-2 at the line. Three more Ithaca turnovers allowed URochester to take a 20-12 lead at the break, with layups from Macy Bacon and Tia Poulakidas making it an eight-point lead after one.
 
The Bombers quickly cut into URochester's lead to start the second, putting within four on Simone Pintinalli's triple 3:03 into the quarter, one of 11 makes from beyond the arc for the Bombers.
 
A little over two minutes later, another Pintinalli three-pointer tied the score at 24-all, capping off a 9-2 Bomber run that tied the score with 4:34 until the halftime break. But the Yellowjackets responded with five-straight points of their own to retake the lead.
 
Despite a miss on UR's ensuing possession, Deniz Alparslan grabbed the offensive rebound and found Corelli for a layup, putting the 'Jackets back in front. Corelli then knocked down another triple on the 'Jackets next offensive possession, making it a 29-24 lead with 3:41 left in the second. However, Ithaca would mount another run, and briefly took the lead with 1:56 to play in the half.
 
Five-straight points from Grace McNamara tied the score at 29-all, while Drevna answered Franki Gomez's fastbreak layup with a three to put the Bombers up 32-31 just past the two-minute mark. That'd be the last and only lead Ithaca would take the rest of the way, though.
 
Rochester ended the first half on an 8-3 run, with Deniz and Melis Alparslan combining for the next six points, before Gomez beat the buzzer with a layup following a turnover by Pintinalli, to give the Yellowjackets a 39-35 lead heading into the locker room.
 
Ithaca kept things close to start the third, with the 'Jackets and Bombers trading buckets to start the quarter. Poulakidas got the scoring started while Drevna sank another three on the opposite end, cutting URochester's advantage to just three, 41-38. Claire Groenewould put Rochester back up five with a layup, while free throws from Gomez and Corelli stretched the lead out to seven, 46-39, with 7:14 left in the third.
 
The Bombers would again pull within three, 48-45, just past the five-minute mark of the third, but the Yellowjackets closed the third quarter on a 12-4 run, and that'd be the closest the Bombers would get the rest of the way.
 
Rochester shot 6-for-10 over the 4:46 stretch, while the Bombers shot just 1-for-6 and 1-for-4 from the free-throw line. Back-to-back layups by Corelli and Groenewoud extended the lead back to seven with 3:56 left in the frame, while four points from Gomez to wrap up the quarter gave the 'Jackets their first double-digit lead of the night, 60-49, headed to the fourth.
 
And despite back-to-back Bomber layups to start the fourth, URochester stretched its lead out to its largest of the night, 71-55, with an 11-2 run, effectively putting the game out of reach. Poulakidas and Groenewoud knocked down back-to-back triples to push the 'Jackets' lead back to 11 with 7:25 left, with another three, this one from Corelli, with just over six minutes to play, made it a 16-point advantage.
 
Ithaca would pull back within 10 before Rochester again took a 16-point lead on Gomez' driving layup with 3:23 remaining and coasted the rest of the way to an 80-70 victory.
 
With the win, Rochester moves to above .500 for the first time this season at 4-3, while the Bombers drop to 2-5 on the year.
 
Four Yellowjackets scored in double figures, led by Corelli's career-high 20 points, while Poulakidas notched her first-career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Gomez joined the pair in double figures with 14 points, adding a team-high eight assists to go along with six rebounds, while Groenewoud added 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.
 
As a team, Rochester shot 49.3 percent (33-for-67) from the field, compared to 42.2 percent (27-for-64) from the Bombers. The 'Jackets also outscored the Bombers, 42-22, in the paint, and committed just eight personal fouls.
 
The Yellowjackets next return home for their final two games of the calendar year, beginning with a matchup against Hamilton College on Friday, Dec. 5, at 7:00 p.m. inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.