Box Score

ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell freshman Allie Munson was dominant inside against one of the Ivy League's top frontcourts, recording career highs of 17 points and seven rebounds in helping the Big Red to a 58-53 win over Columbia on Saturday afternoon at Newman Arena. The win evened the team's record in Ivy play at 1-1 (5-9 overall), while the Lions slipped to 8-8 (1-1 Ivy) with the loss.

Munson connected on 8-of-9 shots from the floor and had 11 points in the decisive second half as the Big Red rallied from a 12-point first half and eight-point halftime deficit to capture the win. After hitting on just 31 percent of its shots in the first half, Cornell made 58 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes. Munson added two blocked shots and a steal off the bench in the victory.

Joining Munson in double figures were Shannan Scarselletta with 12 points in just 17 minutes before fouling out, and Allie Fedorowicz chipped in with 11 to go along with four assists, three rebounds and two steals. Lauren Benson was held to just five points and missed all eight field goals, but played an outstanding floor game with seven assists and five rebounds while playing more than 39 minutes.

The Lions made just 25 percent of its field goals in the second half for an overall 31 percent effort from the floor, including 1-of-9 on 3-pointers. Lauren Dwyer had a team-high 13 points, while both Judie Lomax and Danielle Brown had 12. Lomax added 10 rebounds to register the double-double. Columbia held a 46-36 edge on the boards, including pulling down 21 total offensive rebounds.

The Lions used strong defensive pressure (Cornell made just 1-of-13 shots to open the game) and a dominant effort on the backboards (14-5) early to claim a 14-2 lead over the first eight minutes of the game. A putback by Allie Munson started a 7-0 run that cut the lead to 14-9. Virginia McMunigal hit a 3-pointer and Suzie Doyle capped the run with a fastbreak layup 20 seconds later. A quick 5-0 Lions spurt pushed the visitors back to a double digit lead at 21-11, but the home team cut the deficit to six twice, hanging around despite the poor shooting. When Benson nailed a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left, Cornell was back within 27-21, but a driving basket by Danielle Brown as time was running out sent the Lions into the break with a 29-21 edge.

Munson led the Big Red with six points to go along with five rebounds in the first half, helping the home team stay in the game despite shooting just 31 percent, including 1-of-11 from 3-point range. The Lions got eight points apiece from Lomax and Dwyer at the break. Columbia held a 24-18 edge on the backboards in the first 20 minutes. 

The second half started with the teams trading baskets over the first five minutes before Munson came up with four straight points to get the Big Red within 33-27. A third straight Munson basket made it 33-29, and after a defensive stop, Fedorowicz got free for her first basket of the game on a driving layup to make it 33-31 with 13:30 left in regulation. After getting back within one, the Big Red took the lead on a Fedorowicz trey with 12:20 left.

The Lions regained the lead before Munson re-entered the game and immediately drew a foul. Her free throw make with 9:27 left tied the game at 39-39. After a basket by Lomax to put the visitors up by two, Scarselletta knifed through the defense for a reverse layup to knot the game again. A pair of McMunigal free throws gave Cornell a 43-41 advantage. A dropstep layup for two minutes later by Munson pushed the Big Red edge to 47-42. 

With Scarselletta fouling out with three minutes to play, it was again Munson who came up big. The freshman took a post feed and scored her 17th point of the contest over Lomax to give the Big Red a 53-47 lead with two minutes to play, but the Lions wouldn't go away. A jumper by Dwyer cut the lead to four before the parade to the free-throw line for Cornell began. Benson hit two to make it 55-49 with 1:30 left, and after a Lion miss, Fedorowicz was fouled and canned both charity shots to push the lead to eight. After a basket by Columbia and a steal and putback cut the deficit to four (57-53) with 30 seconds left, Benson hit the second of two free throws to close out the scoring. The Lions never got a shot off in the final 20 seconds as the Big Red held on for the victory and secured the season split.

The Big Red will hit the road next weekend to face Brown on Friday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Pizzitola Center in Providence, R.I.