Box Score Box Score
Coach Smith's Postgame Interview

ITHACA, N.Y. – The officials gathered at midcourt as both teams looked on and after a moment of discussion agreed that Kelsey Hogan's desperation putback off a missed 3-pointer from Cari Reed should count, stunning the Big Red women's basketball team and handing New Hampshire a 63-62 victory this evening at Newman Arena. Hogan's last second shot erased Maka Anyanwu's beautiful 10-foot baseline jumper that gave Cornell a one-point lead with seven seconds remaining.

Cornell (1-3) was led by Allyson DiMagno, who finished the game with 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Anyanwu and Shelby Lyman finished with 14 points apiece. Anyanwu went 7-for-8 from the field and also chipped in four rebounds and one steal. Lyman hit four of Cornell's five 3-pointers in the game, had three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Spencer Lane also had a solid game for the Big Red, scoring six points, handing out six assists, grabbing four rebounds and coming up with one steal.

UNH (2-1) had a pair of double-digit scorers as Denis Beliveau and Hogan finished with 18 and 15 points, respectively. Beliveau also finished with a game-high 10 rebounds to help the Wildcats to a 34-29 advantage on the boards.

Both teams shot extremely well with UNH hitting 45.1 percent from the floor for the game (23-51) and 50 percent from beyond the arc (8-16), while Cornell connected on 46 percent overall (23-50) and 50 percent from 3-point range (5-10). Shockingly, the Big Red struggled from the free throw line for the first time all season, shooting well below its average to finish at just 55 percent (11-20).

Defensively, Cornell played extremely well, forcing 18 Wildcat turnovers with 10 steals, leading to 29 points for the Big Red off turnovers.

The home team started the game on a tear, taking a 24-11 lead at the 11:29 mark thanks in large part to the solid play of Lane and Lyman, who combined for 14 of Cornell's points through the early going. UNH responded with a 13-4 over the next four minutes to get back into the contest, but a layup from Anyanwu, followed by a trey from Lyman pushed the Big Red's lead back to nine points, 33-24, with 6:27 to play. The Wildcats closed the half strong and used a trey by Hogan in the closing moments to send the team's into the intermission with Cornell clinging to the slim 37-34 lead.

Beliveau hit back-to-back layups to open the second half and give UNH its first lead since the opening minute of the game but three consecutive points from DiMagno returned the two-point advantage to the home team, 40-38, with 15:51 to play.

For the rest of the game, the teams battled back and forth, resulting in five ties down the stretch. Eventually, Cornell extended its lead to four-points, the largest lead in the second half by either team when a layup from Anyanwu and a pair of free throws by both DiMagno and Lyman erased a two-point deficit and put the Big Red up, 56-52 with 3:36 to play.

Hogan answered with a three-pointer on UNH's next possession, but once again a pair of free throws by DiMagno kept Cornell on top, 58-55. Three unanswered Wildcat free throws knotted the game for th final time, 58-58, with 2:05 to play.

On the next trip down the court, Anyanwu hit a layup off a great feed from DiMagno, but a trey from Reed with 24 seconds to play put the visitors up by one-point and set up the wild finale.