Box Score
Box Score (PDF)
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Cornell shot 57 percent as a team, placed four in double figures and cruised to a 67-53 victory over Penn on Sunday afternoon at the Palestra. The Big Red improved its win streak to three games and improved its record to 8-9 (2-1 Ivy). The Quakers dropped to 8-9 (1-2 Ivy).
Clare Fitzpatrick scored 14 points, grabbed five rebounds, dished three assists and tallied two steals to lead the Big Red, while Allyson DiMagno notched 10 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for her second double-double of the season. Rookie Sarah Poland hit all six of her field goal attempts and ended the day with 13 points and three rebounds in just 15 minutes of action. Rounding out the double figure scorers was Maka Anyanwu with 11 points. Spencer Lane also had a solid floor game with eight points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Cornell shot better than 55 percent from the floor in both halves, including 59 percent after halftime. Defensively, the Big Red sat back in a zone and allowed a struggling Penn squad to launch jumpers. The home team hit just 1-of-12 from 3-point range in the first half and ended the game hitting on just 35 percent of its shots overall and 22 percent from beyond the arc.
Alyssa Baron was a one woman show for Penn, scoring 24 of the team's 53 points and adding six rebounds, two assists, three steals and a blocked shot. Jackie Kates also reached double figures with 10 points.
The two teams were even throughout the game's first 10 minutes, with the Quakers taking a five-point lead (11-6) as both teams struggled to find the basket. Then, the Big Red's offense took over. Cornell scored on each of its last nine possessions, turning a five-point deficit into a seven-point lead at the break (28-21). In all, the Big Red scored 22 points in the final nine minutes after posting just six in the first 11.
After the offense gave the Big Red its lead, the defense extended it. Cornell held the home team without a field goal for more than seven minutes to open the second half, bringing the lead into double figures. Though Penn would get back to within seven with under seven minutes remaining, it would never really threaten the visitors the rest of the way. Cornell scored seven straight to lift the lead back to 14 and never led by less than 12 the rest of the way in collecting its second Ancient Eight road win of the season, just a year removed from an 0-14 season away from home.
Cornell will play its Ivy League home opener against Harvard on Friday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. at Newman Arena.
