ITHACA, N.Y. – There were a variety of reasons for fans of the Cornell women's basketball team to cheer on Saturday afternoon, all culminating in the Big Red defeating Columbia, 80-77, in an exciting overtime thriller at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
In the team's Ivy League home opener, it was a fresh new face and a veteran that both had career-days, helping the Big Red avenge its loss to the Lions from last weekend and improve to 8-6 overall and 1-1 in Ivy League play.
Samantha Widmann has been a face of the Cornell women's basketball program for the last four seasons, and with her basket just under a minute into the second quarter of play, she cemented her place in the Big Red record books, becoming the 15th player in Cornell women's basketball history to score 1,000 career points. Widmann finished the contest with nine points, but more importantly, her milestone accomplishment lit a fire under the Big Red, who after trailing 18-13 after the first quarter of play, had a surge of intensity when Widmann reached the 1,000-point plateau.
After witnessing the veteran Widmann make Big Red history, it was freshman Shannon Mulroy who completely took over the game. Mulroy had the type of shooting night that every player envisions, as the rookie made it rain from behind the arc, knocking down seven 3-point field goals en route to a career and game-high 27 points. Mulroy single-handedly made as many long range baskets as Columbia made as a team, and her seven 3-point baskets in a contest ranks third all-time in Cornell women's basketball history.
While Mulroy was undoubtedly on fire, she wasn't alone, however, as Laura Bagwell-Katalinich (19) and Kate Sramac (14) also scored in double-figures. Both Bagwell-Katalinich and Sramac hit the boards hard, as each corralled nine rebounds and were only one away from a double-double. Sramac also distributed the ball well, notching five assists.
With everyone on the Cornell roster feeding off of each other, the Big Red would use this momentum to notch an 80-77 overtime victory over the Lions, marking Cornell's first overtime victory since the Big Red defeated Dartmouth, 71-58, on Jan. 30, 2016.
The Big Red's journey to victory was thrilling to say the least. Cornell found itself down by seven with 2:58 remaining in regulation, but the Big Red fought back, and after four consecutive Halley Miklos points, Cornell was within three, trailing 67-64. Several possessions later with the Big Red down by two, it was none other than Mulroy that knocked down a triple to give Cornell a 69-68 lead with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter.
Columbia's Abbey Hsu, who was the hero in Columbia's victory over Cornell last week, came up clutch again, sinking a 3-pointer of her own with 22 seconds remaining to put Columbia back on top, 71-69. But she wouldn't be the hero this time, as Mulroy drove to the rim and got fouled shooting a pull-up jumper with five seconds left on the clock. She stepped up to the charity stripe with poise and confidence, converting both free throws to even the score up at 71-71 and send the game into overtime.
The Big Red never trailed in overtime, jumping out to a 75-71 lead after Mulroy and Sramac both converted a pair of free throws. With Columbia trying to claw its way back into the game and the score at 75-73 with three minutes remaining, Sramac put a dagger in the Lions' back. The junior swished a deep three as the shot clock was expiring to give Cornell a 78-73 advantage with 50 seconds left. Columbia couldn't recover, the Big Red went on to an 80-77 victory.
The Big Red women's basketball team will continue its three-game home stand when it hosts Brown on Friday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m. and Yale on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 5 p.m. at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
