WASHINGTON, D.C. - Catholic women's basketball fell to Ithaca, 67-65, in a rematch of last year's NCAA First Round. This year's edition did not disappoint as both teams battled to the end in a highly entertaining matchup. 

Catholic's red-hot shooting from Wednesday's win over Salisbury carried over as the Cardinals hit six first-quarter threes to jump out to a 21-6 lead over the Bombers. Erin Thompson and Erin Doherty each hit a pair of triples in the quarter. 

Carly Mulvaney opened up the scoring with a three just 23 seconds into the game. Thompson followed that up with a triple at the 9:02 mark. Thompson hit another, followed by a Rachel Bussanich make from beyond the arc, putting Catholic up 13-0 in the first 4:06. 

Doherty hit a couple of threes at the 2:26 and 1:46 marks to give Catholic a 19-6 lead before Amelia Baldo's jumper with 39 seconds left proved to be the final points of the quarter. 

The Bombers punched back in the second quarter, outscoring Catholic 21-8 and out-rebounding the Cardinals by 14 to cut the deficit to two points at halftime. 

The third quarter was one of the most exciting 10-minute stretches you could imagine as both teams traded blows before we ended the quarter tied at 47.

Bussanich opened the scoring before a 6-0 Ithaca run pushed the Bombers ahead by two. Doherty tied the game at 33 with a steal and a finish at the 6:55 mark. With 5:16 to play in the third, Bussanich finished on a feed from Anna Scoblick to put Catholic up 38-35. 

The Bombers jumped back ahead at the 4:19 mark with a Hannah Polce three, but Doherty knocked down another triple 15 seconds later to make it a 42-40 Catholic lead. Doherty scored again a minute later to push the lead to four. Polce took the lead for Ithaca with a jumper at the 2:01 mark and Baldo tied the contest 1t 47 with 1:38 to go in the period. 

The fourth quarter didn't disappoint either. Polce hit another three for Ithaca two minutes into the fourth, giving the Bombers a four-point lead. The Cardinals and Bombers traded buckets before a Natalie Smith layup gave Ithaca its largest lead to that point at 59-53. 

The Bombers outscored Catholic 7-5 over the next 1:45, taking a 66-58 lead after a Zoraida Icabalceta three with 3:32 to play. 22 seconds later, Scoblick drove to the basket and finished, sparking a Catholic run. Doherty hit a jump shot with 2:28 to play, pulling Catholic back within four. Bussanich knocked down two free throws at the 1:43 mark and the Cardinals trailed just 66-64. 

After a Baldo steal, Scoblick was fouled and knocked down one-of-two free throws to put the Cards within one. Trailing by one, Catholic forced a turnover, drawing an offensive foul with 28 seconds remaining. Doherty's jumper didn't fall with 16 seconds remaining and Catholic was forced to foul. Smith made the first but missed the second. However. Annabella Yorio was there for the offensive rebound and she was fouled. 

Yorio missed both, giving Catholic one final chance, but Mulvaney's attempt at the buzzer wouldn't fall. 

Doherty scored 24 points and added four assists and three steals in the losing effort. Bussanich scored 14 points for the Cardinals who continue to shoot the ball well from three, knocking down nine-of-18 tries. 

Four Bombers scored at least 11 points and Emily Dorn posted a double-double with 16 points and 13 boards. 

Catholic travels to St. Mary's (Md.) on Tuesday before a short holiday break.