The Cardinals took the lead for good after
Stephanie Sweeney snapped a 21-21 tied with a 3-pointer with just under five minutes left in the first half.
Fisher went on a 5-0 run over the final 3:33 of the first half to take a 29-23 lead into the locker room. The Cardinals played solid defense in the first half, forcing 21 turnovers, but committed 14 turnovers themselves.
After a three-point-play on Fisher's first possession of the second half from
Colleen Maloney and a lay up from
Mary Kate Comfort just moments later, the Cardinals led by 10, but the Bombers did not go away. Ithaca trimmed Fisher's lead down to three points on three different occasions, but never pulled any closer.
The Bombers made a jumper with 8:55 left to make it 52-49, but the Cardinals went on an 8-0 run over the next 4:10 to take command for good. Freshman
Meghan Soja started the spurt with back-to-back buckets, and after a lay up from
Kayleigh Comfort, Maloney capped the rally with a 15-foot jumper to put her team up double-digits at 60-49. Ithaca made it 60-51 on its next possession, but went on another 8-0 run to pull away.
Maloney led the Cardinals with 21 points (one-shy of her career-high), including 14 in the second half, while
Kristi Jeffres scored 10 of her 15 points in the second half. Comfort added 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots, while Sweeney finished with eight rebounds, six points and four steals.
Kristen Taliento chipped in with six points, six rebounds and four steals.
Fisher will return to action at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Nazareth College. It will be the third meeting of the year for the two programs with both teams each winning one game. Both Fisher and Nazareth are tied for fourth place in the Empire 8 standings.
