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ITHACA, N.Y. – Junior Brittany Wilson had a career-high 29 points for visiting Nazareth, but two Ithaca free throws in the final 2.2 seconds gave the Bombers the 61-59 victory in a hard-fought women's Empire 8 basketball game Thursday evening.

With the victory, Ithaca improves to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the conference games. Nazareth falls to 3-5 overall and 0-1 in Empire 8 contests.

The Bombers surged to a 9-0 lead in the first 2:15 thanks to 6-0 rebounding advantage. Nazareth, however, clawed back into the game over the following 10 minutes of play. Wilson scored the Golden Flyers' first four points on two free throws and a layup. Junior Erica Shaw brought Nazareth to within three points with 11:40 left in the half by connecting on a three-point shot. About three minutes later, Wilson's layup cut Ithaca's lead to 15-14. After making a steal in the defensive end, Senior Mary Holland connected on one of two free throws to tie the game at 15 apiece with 7:39 to play in the half.

After trading baskets, Shaw converted two free throws to give Nazareth its first lead of the game, 24-23, with 35 seconds to play in the half. The Golden Flyers' defense held off two Bombers' possessions to hold on to the one-point edge at halftime. Wilson finished with 15 points and seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

Neither the Bombers nor the Golden Flyers shot well during the first half as both defenses forced difficult shots. Nazareth shot 28 percent (8-29) from the field and Ithaca shot 35 percent (9-26).

During the first 10 minutes of the second half, junior Katie Kollar connected on a three-point shot and two free throws by Wilson temporarily gave Nazareth one-point leads. Two free throws by Holland extended Nazareth's lead to 42-39 with 8:22 to play. Another three-point basket by Kollar stretched the Golden Flyers' lead to six points, 45-39.

Over the next five minutes, Nazareth maintained its tenuous lead thanks to well-timed baskets. Ithaca, though, continued to force its way to the free throw line to reclaim the lead. Two free throws by Devin Shea gave Ithaca a 51-50 lead with about three minutes to play in regulation. On the Bombers' next possession, Shea connected on two additional free throws to extend Ithaca's lead to three points.

Wilson converted a three-point play to tie the game with just under two minutes to play. Ithaca's Jacqueline Shinall connected on two more free throws, and Elissa Klie added a free throw to give Ithaca a 59-56 lead with under 20 seconds to play. After a timeout to set up a final play, Kollar banked in a three-point shot with 9.6 seconds remaining to re-tie the score at 59.

With 2.2 seconds to play, Nazareth was called for a foul, which put Kathryn Campbell at the charity stripe. Campbell converted both free throws for the eventual 61-59 victory. With just the final seconds remaining, a baseball pass from the Golden Flyers' baseline put the ball in the paint in Nazareth's offensive end. The teams battled for the loose ball, but time ran out and no foul was called.

The Golden Flyers rebounded to shoot 40 percent (12-30) from the field in the second half. In addition to Wilson's career-high, Kollar finished with 14 points in 15 minutes of playing time. Ashley Gallagher and Brittany Patenaude also added five points apiece.

Ithaca's Klie and Campbell scored 14 points and 11 points, respectively, to lead the Bombers. Most of Ithaca's second half points were tallied at the foul line, where the Bombers finished with 33 free throw opportunities in the second half. Ithaca connected on 21 of its 33 chances as Nazareth players were whistled for 30 fouls. The Bombers finished the game 24-40 from the line. Ithaca was called for 18 fouls in the hard-fought game. Nazareth was 12-17 from the charity stripe over the course of the game.

Ithaca held a 42-37 advantage in rebounds, but Wilson finished with a game-high nine rebounds for Nazareth.

The Golden Flyers travel to Hilbert for a non-conference game December 17th.