FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Cornell University women's basketball team returned from the holiday break and found itself on the losing end of a 70-36 decision to Florida Gulf Coast this evening at Alico Arena in Fort Myers, Fla. The Eagles used a prolonged 17-3 run late in the first half to put the game out of reach and remain undefeated at home with an 8-2 record overall. With the loss, the Big Red fell to 4-5 on the season.   

 

Cornell was led by Shannan Scarselletta and Allie Fedorowicz with nine and seven points, respectively, while Allie Munson grabbed a team-high six rebounds. The Big Red shot just 32 percent from the floor and a season-low 16.7 percent from 3-point range, while being plagued by foul trouble (24) and turnovers (22).    

 

The Eagles saw three players in double-figures with Chelsea Lyles and Kelsey Jacobson scoring 14 points apiece, while Adrianne McNally chipped in 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds. FGCU connected on 43.6 percent of its shots overall, but just 22.2 percent from beyond the arc. They held a 41-31 advantage in rebounds and turned the ball over just 13 times.

 

The home team jumped out to an early 4-2 lead before rattling off nine unanswered points to build a 13-2 advantage at the 16:26 mark. A layup by Allison Abt ended the FGCU run, but Jacobson answered with a trey on the Eagles' next possession to make it a 16-4 game with 14:30 remaining in the first half. The teams traded baskets over the next four minutes, with a pair of buckets by Munson off offensive rebounds making it a 19-8 game. A layup be Fedorowicz cut the Eagles' lead to single-digits, 19-10, but 10 unanswered points pushed the advantage back double-digits, 29-10, with 6:22 left to play in the half.

 

A 3-pointer by Sasha Truong ended the run but FGCU was not done as it outscored the Big Red, 9-4, over the closing moments of the half to take the 38-17 lead into the intermission.

 

The Eagles opened the first seven minutes of the second half with a 14-3 scoring run to quickly build a commanding 52-20 lead that it would not relinquish.

 

The teams traded baskets late in the second half before FGCU closed the game on a 6-0 scoring run to take the 70-36 victory.