Box Score Over the course of its eye-opening 9-0 run to start the season, the John Carroll University women's basketball had rarely faced adversity late in games. With eight of those nine victories by double figures, the occasions to be tested have simply not been there.

So it came to pass on a cold Wednesday afternoon in Central New York that such an opportunity arose.

Trailing 62-59 with 2:21 remaining, John Carroll rallied by scoring the final five points of the contest to knock off Ithaca College, 64-62. It was Ithaca's first home loss since an NCAA Tournament setback in March of 2012 -- a span of 14 games.

"This was as hard-earned of a win as we have had," said John Carroll head coach Kelly Morrone. "From being stranded and turned back on Interstate 90 (trying to get to Medaille for a Tuesday game that was cancelled), to having bus troubles and restaurant issues once we got here, and then having to face a quality opponent like Ithaca ... I'm proud of our resiliency and our maturity."

Neither team led by any more than five points in an evenly contested opening 20 minutes. But it was John Carroll that held a five-point lead at the end of the first half, 32-27.

The Blue Streaks would open the second half on a 13-7 run. When Meghan Weber dropped in a lay-up with 13:34 to play in regulation, JCU held a 45-34 lead.

For a team that rarely loses at home, there would be an answer coming from Ithaca. The Bombers scored 13 of the next 16 points to pull to within a single tally.

John Carroll fended off the initial run, and pushed the lead back to eight points at 55-47 on two Missy Spahar free throws with 8:04 remaining. Ithaca answered yet again, using a 15-4 run capped by a three-point play by Ally Mnich that gave the Bombers a 62-59 advantage

Those would be the last points Ithaca would score.

John Carroll would record the final five points of the contest -- and all five were tallied by Katlyn Spahar. She hit two free throws at the 2:08 mark, nailed a jumper with 1:35 on the clock to give JCU the lead back at 64-63, then made a free throw with 17 seconds left for the final margin.

"Katlyn stepped up big for us," said Morrone. "This is a veteran team for the most part, but if we can get contributions like that from a freshman, we will take it."

Defensively, John Carroll forced four Ithaca misses and a turnover to keep the Bombers from scoring down the stretch.

"This was a very good, well-balanced and physical team," said Morrone of the Bombers. "They tested us early, and even though we got a cushion in the second half, we knew we needed to play to the buzzer to beat them."

Missy Spahar finished with a team-high 20 points (to go with 11 rebounds) while Katlyn Spahar knocked down 19 and Emily Taylor added ten.

John Carroll is now 10-0 on the season, marking just the second time in program history that the Blue Streaks have started out a season with ten consecutive victories. This year's squad matches the mark established by the 1993-94 team.