PRINCETON, N.J. – Princeton turned up the heat on defense, and the Cornell women's basketball team was unable to get its bearings, falling to the Tigers, 60-29, on Friday evening at Jadwin Gymnasium in Princeton, N.J.
The Tigers' defense pounced on every opportunity it had to disrupt the Cornell offense, locking the Big Red down when it attempted to run its half-court sets and forcing turnovers left and right. Princeton made the most of Cornell's 26 turnovers, turning the Big Red miscues into 36 points. This made it difficult for the Big Red to produce on offense, as it was limited to a 15.6 shooting percentage for the contest.
Princeton opened the flood gates from the get-go, starting the contest on a 7-0 run before Shannon Mulroy scored the first Big Red points of the game on a running jumper in the lane with roughly 7:30 left in the opening quarter of play. The Tigers continued to put its foot on the gas, and with the score at 12-2, Cornell took a timeout to regroup.
The Big Red responded well out of the timeout, scoring four straight points on Samantha Widmann and Theresa Grace Mbanefo lay-ups. Mbanefo's basket came after she stole the ball from a Princeton rebounder directly under Cornell's basket and then laid it in for two.
After these back-to-back baskets, the Big Red struggled to find any rhythm offensively for the rest of the half. Princeton's 20-8 lead at the end of the first quarter grew to a 31-11 advantage at the half after the Tigers prevented the Big Red from scoring a field goal in the second quarter of play. Princeton limited Cornell to just three points in the second quarter, all coming at the free throw line.
Cornell held its own coming out of the locker room, and after Princeton scored the first two buckets of the second half, Mulroy ended the Big Red's field goal drought, sinking a 3-pointer a minute and a half into the third quarter. Several possessions later, Samantha Will knocked down a mid-range baseline jumper of her own. But every time the Big Red scored, Princeton responded, and after a 6-0 run following Will's jumper, Princeton led, 43-16. Mbanefo continued to fight, grabbing an offensive rebound and converting the put-back to make the score 43-18 at the end of the third quarter.
The Big Red experienced its most offensive production in the fourth quarter, led by Will's five fourth quarter points on a 3-point basket and a pair of free throws. Stephanie Umeh also knocked down a pair of free throws, making her 4-of-4 for the contest. Cornell shot well from the charity stripe as a team, going 13-of-17 (76.5%) and having five student-athletes remain perfect from the foul line. Despite these positives, the Tigers prevailed, 60-29.
Cornell was led by Will, who posted a team-and season-high seven points, only one off her career high. Mulroy and Mbanefo both chipped in five points and Mbanefo added four rebounds.
Princeton was led by Bella Alarie, who notched 13 points and nine rebounds and paced three Tigers in double figures. Taylor Baur scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards, while Grace Stone tallied 10 points.
The Cornell women's basketball team will look to bounce back tomorrow when it takes on Penn at 7 p.m. at The Palestra in Philadelphia.
