FORT WORTH, Texas – Despite outscoring the Horned Frogs 14-5 in the third quarter and receiving a 17 point, 17 rebound performance from senior forward Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, the Cornell women's basketball team fell to TCU, 59-49, on Sunday afternoon at Ed & Rae Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Big Red gave the Horned Frogs all that they could handle, challenging TCU for the full 40 minutes of play. After heading to the locker room trailing 40-25, Cornell came out with a vengeance in the second half, holding the Horned Frogs to just five points in the third quarter and slicing the TCU lead to 45-39 heading into the fourth. The Big Red cut TCU's lead to as little as three in the fourth quarter after a clutch three pointer from Dylan Higgins, but TCU responded with a 7-2 run of their own that was just too much for Cornell to overcome.
Bagwell-Katalinich kept the Big Red within striking distance over the course of the contest, hitting clutch shots and corralling any rebound that came her way. She finished the contest with a game-high 17 points and a collegiate-best 17 rebounds, notching the seventh double-double of her career.
Freshman point guard Shannon Mulroy and sophomore forward Theresa Grace Mbanefo played with confidence, both reaching double figures and tallying 11 and 10 points, respectively. Mulroy was feeling it from long range, shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc, while also notching five assists. Mbanefo guarded the paint well, collecting seven rebounds and posting two blocks in addition to her 10 points.
TCU was quick to jump on the Big Red in the first quarter, opening the contest on an 8-0 run. Cornell settled in and responded with a 5-0 run of its own on a Bagwell-Katalinich jumper from the top of the key and a Mulroy three-pointer several possessions later.
Bagwell-Katalinich and Mulroy were big reasons why Cornell trailed by only three points at the end of the first quarter, 19-16. Bagwell-Katalinich had already amassed eight points and three rebounds by the end of the opening frame, and Mulroy made two three-pointers in the first 10 minutes of play.
The second quarter belonged to TCU, who once again opened on an 8-0 run and quickly built momentum, outscoring the Big Red in the quarter, 21-9. The Horned Frogs shot the lights out, shooting .714 from behind the arc for the quarter and .641 for the half on 9-of-14 from long range. TCU built a 40-25 lead over the Big Red heading into the half.
Instead of putting their heads down, the Big Red put its nose to the grindstone and came out of the locker room ready to battle. Bagwell-Katalinich scored the first points of the second half on a mid-range jumper, and the Big Red were back in business. Mulroy continued to shoot well, knocking down her third triple of the game to bring the score to 42-30 at the 7:17 mark. Any time TCU threatened to re-extend the lead in the third, the Big Red answered. Mbanefo continued to hit baskets during these pivotal moments, and heading into the media timeout, she recorded her third basket of the game to keep TCU's lead at 45-32.
Following the media timeout, Cornell really started to chip away at TCU's lead. Ania McNicholas got fouled on a three point shot, and went 2-of-3 from the charity stripe to bring the score to 45-34. Several possessions later, Bagwell-Katalinich continued to show off her range, hitting another jumper and bringing Cornell's deficit back to single digits at 45-37. In the closing minutes of the quarter, Bagwell-Katalinich added a pair of free throws to bring the Big Red back to within six, 45-39.
TCU scored the first two baskets to open fourth, re-extending its lead to 49-39. It was once again Bagwell-Katalinich and Mbanefo that struck, each scoring a basket on back-to-back possessions and getting Cornell back within six at 49-43. The Big Red came as close as three on a Higgins three-pointer at the 5:25 mark, but TCU responded with a 7-2 run that was too much for Cornell to handle. The Big Red would fight until the end, but would fall, 59-49.
The Big Red will be back in action when it returns to Newman Arena for its home opener against Colgate on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in Ithaca, N.Y.
