Playing for the first time in nearly two weeks, the Tompkins Cortland Community College women's basketball team took a long time to shake off the rust, eventually running out of time in a 47-43 loss to Ithaca College Club. Tompkins Cortland is now 7-10 on the season.

The last game the Panthers played was on January 29, and the lack of recent action showed early. Over the first two quarters, Tompkins Cortland made just five of 36 attempts from the floor (13.9%) and trailed 16-14 at the half. The shooting got a little better in the third, but the home team still trailed 35-23 heading into the fourth.

A switch flipped starting the fourth, as the Panthers went on a 10-0 run over the first three minutes to pull within 35-33. After Ithaca pushed the lead back to eight points with three minutes left in the game, the Panthers made one final push. Six straight points brought the Panthers back to within two points entering the final minute, but Ithaca sealed the win with two points in closing seconds.

Amarionah Dixon (Elmira/Elmira H.S.) had the sixth triple-double in program history, posting 16 points, 25 rebounds, and 10 steals. In addition to the historic triple-double, the first for a Panther since 2018, her rebound total was just one short of the team record for boards in a game.

Karissa Wilbur (McGraw/McGraw H.S.) also reached double figures in scoring with 10 points. Simone Smith (Ithaca/Ithaca H.S.) led the team in assists with five.

Looking ahead

The next game is Saturday, February 11 at Herkimer College.