ITHACA, N.Y. – Senior forward Theresa Grace Mbanefo's double-double paced four Cornell women's basketball players in double figures, fueling the Big Red to a 53-34 wire-to-wire victory over Colgate in Cornell's season opener on Wednesday night at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
Mbanefo made up for lost time in her senior debut, netting a career-high 15 points and grabbing a career-best 14 rebounds for the second double-double of her career. As if that wasn't enough, Mbanefo added a game-high three blocks and tallied three assists.
Mbanefo wasn't the only one who excelled, however, as Cornell's offensive showing was a total team effort. In total, four Big Red student-athletes posted double figures, including Olivia Snyder (12), Shannon Mulroy (10), and Samantha Will (10). Snyder also pulled down seven rebounds in her Cornell debut.
The Big Red shared the love on offense, notching 15 assists on 21 field goals as compared to Colgate's four assists for the entire contest. Mulroy dished out a game-high four assists, with Mbanefo (3), Snyder (2), Will (2), and KC Carter (2) posting multiple assists in the contest.
As a team, Cornell shot 38.9% from the floor while holding Colgate to just 24.5% shooting on the night, including 16.6% from 3-point range. The Big Red's defense made the Raiders uncomfortable for the entire night, and Cornell wracked-up six blocks as compared to Colgate's one. In addition to Mbanefo's three blocks, freshman Summer Parker-Hall posted a pair of blocks while scoring three points and adding five rebounds in her collegiate debut. Cornell also capitalized off of Colgate's turnovers, scoring 17 points off of the Raiders' 12 turnovers.
The Big Red never gave Colgate a chance in the contest, scoring the first seven points of the game and going on to outscore the Raiders, 17-4, in the first quarter. It helped Cornell build a lead that it would never relinquish, leading 29-14 at the half. The Big Red led by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter, going on to the 53-34 victory.
With the win, the Big Red has posted back-to-back wins in its season opener and is 1-0 on the season. The Cornell women's basketball team will be back in action on Friday when it opens a three-game road stretch at Wake Forest at 4 p.m. in Winston-Salem, N.C.
