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ITHACA, N.Y. -- Host Ithaca outscored Nazareth 54-37 in a women's Empire 8 basketball game on Saturday afternoon. Freshman Lindsey Kelly tallied a game-high 14 points and 13 rebounds. Senior Erica Shaw finished with seven points and four rebounds in her final game as a Golden Flyer.

Following the loss, Nazareth finishes the season 10-15 overall and 7-7 in conference games. The loss snaps the Golden Flyers' three-game win streak. With the victory, the Bombers improve to 23-2 overall and 13-1 in Empire 8 games. Ithaca will have the top seed in the four-team conference tournament, which will be played at second-place Hartwick due to renovations to the Bombers' gymnasium. With the loss, Nazareth is eliminated from the Empire 8 tournament on tiebreakers. Entering Saturday's slate of games, the Golden Flyers, Stevens, St. John Fisher, and Utica were all tied for third place in the standings with a 7-6 record.

The 7-7 record is the first .500 record the women's team has had against league opponents since the 2002-03 season. With Shaw the lone Nazareth player to graduate this year, the Golden Flyers will have many familiar faces for the 2013-14 season.

In the first half, Nazareth and Ithaca traded baskets in the opening minutes as the first five minutes featured five lead changes. With the score tied, 8-8, the Bombers used an 8-0 scoring run in a span of 3:15 to take a 16-8 lead with roughly nine minutes to play in the opening period. Freshman Veronica Peck connected a three-point shot to trim Nazareth's deficit to six points in the final minute of the half. Ithaca connected on two free throws in the final second to take a 27-19 lead at the break.

To open the second half, Kelly converted a jumper to cut Ithaca's lead back to six points. After the Bombers answered with two three-point baskets, Kelly scored four consecutive points on two free throws and a layup to bring the Golden Flyers to within five points, 33-28, but Nazareth was unable to complete its rally. 

The Bombers closed the game with a 21-9 scoring run in the final 16:31 to secure the victory. Six different players scored at least five points for Ithaca to overwhelm Nazareth's defense. The Golden Flyers' defense held Kathryn Campbell to six points. Campbell entered the game as the Bombers' leading scorer with almost 13 points per game.

Ithaca stretched its lead throughout the contest by holding the Golden Flyers to 29.4 percent shooting (15-51) from the field and forcing 18 turnovers. In comparison, Nazareth shot over 53 percent (26-49) in its 68-56 victory over Elmira on Friday night. The Golden Flyers averaged 36 percent shooting from the field during the season.

The Bombers entered the game allowing opponents to shoot less than 33 percent on their field goal attempts. During the 2012-13 season, Ithaca was especially challenging to play in its Ben Light Gymnasium as the Bombers finished with an undefeated 10-0 record on their home court.

Shaw finishes her career at Nazareth with 468 points, including 376 between the last two seasons. Shaw's 222 points this season were a career-high. Kelly finishes the season as Nazareth's leading scorer with 401 total points and an average of about 16 points per game. Kelly finished her first season with an impressive field goal percentage of .583, which ranks sixth nationally in Division III. Kelly is not ranked among the leaders on the NCAA page as a minimum of five made field goals each game are required for the category.

In addition to the points from Kelly and Shaw, sophomore Hannah Runyon and Peck each finished with five points. Junior Megan Morrison and sophomores Maria Allocco and Melissa Reeves each chipped in two points apiece. Kelly's 13 boards provided the Golden Flyers with a 41-37 advantage in total rebounds.

Jenn Escobido had a team-high 12 points and eight rebounds for the Bombers. Ithaca's balanced attack allowed the Bombers' bench to outscore Nazareth's bench 26-4.