ITHACA, N.Y. – The Skidmore College women's basketball team won the Liberty League Championship game over nationally 15^th-ranked Ithaca College on Saturday afternoon, 54-52.
 

• The Thoroughbreds will advance to the NCAA Tournament having claimed the Liberty League's automatic qualifier. Skidmore's First Round opponent will be decided during Monday's Selection Show.
• Skidmore, the second seed, won its third Liberty League title, and first since 2017-18. Skidmore is now 3-1 all-time in Liberty League Championship games.
• The Skidmore victory breaks Ithaca's streak of three consecutive league titles (2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22).
• The Thoroughbreds will enter the NCAA Tournament after setting its single-season program win record at 22. Skidmore is 22-5 overall.
• Tournament Most Valuable Player Kate McCarney scored 15 points in the championship game to lead Skidmore. She finished 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) from the field, drained two of Skidmore's three 3-pointers, and had a pair of assists.

Kate McCarney was named the tournamen's Most Valuable Player after scoring 15 points in the championship game.

• Skidmore's defense kept the powerful Bomber offense off balance all game. Heading to the third quarter, Ithaca was shooting just 25.6 percent as a team. The Bombers found their rhythm in time to make it a tight game down to the wire. Ithaca shot 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) in the fourth quarter to fuel the comeback bid.
• Skidmore's lead grew to its largest it got to all game at 13 in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
• Ithaca put together five unanswered points in the middle of the fourth quarter to cut its deficit to six.
• Emmy Plage stopped the bleeding with a jumper with 4:19 left to make it 48-40. Plage scored 13 points for Skidmore, including the first five Thoroughbred points of the contest in quick succession.
• Ithaca scored the next six points, Cara Volpe had four of them, and it was a two-point game with 2:47 to play.
• Amelia Medolla dropped in a lay-up with 2:19 left to give Skidmore its four-point lead back, 50-46.
• Both teams turned the ball over on each of their next two possessions.
• Camryn Coffey hit a 3-pointer for the Bombers to make it a one-point game with 24 seconds left.
• Julia Blanck made one free throw before Maddie Hastings stepped up and made both of hers with six seconds to go to make it 53-49.
• Right out of an Ithaca timeout, Emily Dorn got the Bombers back to within one with a 3-pointer with three tics left on the clock.
• Hastings in-bounded to McCarney after a Skidmore advancement timeout of its own, and McCarney was immediately fouled with under one second remaining.
• McCarney made her second free throw, and the Skidmore celebration was on when Ithaca was unable to get a desperation heave off in time.
• Blanck finished with a double-double for Skidmore. She had 12 rebounds to go along with her 10 points.
• NEXT UP: Skidmore will advance to the Division III Women's Basketball Tournament next weekend. Ithaca, the nationally 15^th-ranked team in the country, will also await its tournament destination as a likely at-large candidate. The NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Selection Show will air on Monday, Feb. 27 at 2:30 p.m. on NCAA.com.