Box Score Box Score
Coach Smith Postgame Interview 

ITHACA, N.Y. –  For the third consecutive game, the Cornell women's basketball team played in a game that came down to the final possession and for the second straight contest, the Big Red came out on the losing end, falling to Eastern Michigan, 54-52. In a game that was played at a frenetic pace throughout, Cornell held the Eagles to well below its season scoring average (77.2) with an impressive defensive effort.

Cornell (1-4) was led by a trio of players in double-figures with both Allyson DiMagno and Clare Fitzpatrick registering 14 points apiece, while Maka Anyanwu finished with 12 points. DiMagno also finished with eight rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Anyanwu and Fitzpatrick finished with seven and six rebounds, respectively. That trio's effort, along with Allie Munson's four rebounds in just nine minutes of action, helped the Big Red to a 39-34 advantage on the boards.    

For the second straight game, Cornell shot the ball extremely well from the floor, connecting on 42.9 percent (21-of-49) but hit just 18.2 percent from beyond the arc (2-of-11). The Big Red also turned the ball over 20 times, thanks in large part to EMU's nine steals.

Eastern Michigan (4-1) was led by Tavelyn James' 16 points, which is well-below her season average of 30.0 points per game, while Paige Redditt finished one rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. India Hairston also came close to a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds.

The Eagles, which entered the game shooting 42.6 percent on the season, were held to just 34.9 percent from the floor and 29.4 percent from 3-point range. They also turned the ball over 13 times, with Cornell registering eight steals.

In a game that featured 10 ties and 12 lead changes, the Big Red hung tough with an extremely athletic and physical team and eventually used eight straight points by DiMagno, followed by a layup from Shelby Lyman to erase a three-point deficit and take a 26-19 lead with 4:44 to go in the opening half.

Unfortunately, EMU closed the half on a 9-0 run to go into the intermission with the slim 28-26 lead.

A layup from Anyanwu in the opening moments of the second half knotted the game at 28 apiece and the teams battled back-and-forth to a make it a 34-34 game with 14:44 to play.

With a trey from Olivia Fouty at the 6:54 mark, the Eagles eventually managed to take a four-point lead, the largest by either team in the second half of play, but back-to-back buckets by Fitzpatrick and Munson tied the game again at 48-48.

Fitzpatrick managed to knot the game one final time (50-50) with a jumper in the paint with 25 seconds to play, but EMU pushed the ball upcourt on the restart to go up 54-52 with 17 seconds showing on the clock.

The Big Red had one final possession, but the shot missed the mark and the ball sailed out of bounds off an Eagle with one-second to play. On the ensuing inbounds play, Cornell got a good look at the basket, but the ball rimmed out and EMU took the victory.

The Big Red hits the road for a quick trip to the Buckeye state, where it will face Cleveland State on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m.