A late rally came up just short on Wednesday as the Tompkins Cortland women's basketball team ran out of time against Hudson Valley Community College, losing by a final score of 60-55. The Panthers end the fall semester portion of the schedule with a record of 2-3 while Hudson Valley improves to 6-5.

The Panther fell behind early, trailing 16-9 after one quarter and 31-21 at the half. The third quarter cut the deficit to eight points at 41-33, but the big move came in the fourth. Steadily chipping away at the Hudson Valley lead, Tompkins Cortland pulled within three points at 54-51 with 1:28 left. Unproductive possessions by both teams kept the score at 54-51 as the clock went under 30 seconds. In the final half minute, the Panthers kept the pressure on with a pair of buckets, including one that made it a three-point game with just a few seconds left, but Hudson Valley was perfect from the free throw line while scoring six points in the final 25 seconds to seal the win.

Madison Kelly (Moravia/Moravia H.S.) set a new career-high with 24 points while also collecting 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals. Thea Holdman (Singapore/International Community School) was next with 9 points and 8 rebounds and Simone Smith (Ithaca/Ithaca H.S.) finished with 8 points, 7 steals, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.

Looking ahead

The Panthers are off for finals and the winter break. The next game is scheduled for January 8 at home against SUNY Broome.