ITHACA, N.Y. – Led by Ania McNicholas' and Olivia Snyder's 14 points apiece, the Cornell women's basketball team (5-6) placed three scorers in double figures and had 10 different players put points on the board as the Big Red used a total team effort to roll past Lock Haven (4-4), 82-48, on Wednesday afternoon at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
McNicholas and Snyder had no trouble putting the ball in the basket against the Bald Eagles, but that wasn't the only area of the game where they made an impact. McNicholas filled the stat sheet, adding seven rebounds, a career-high seven assists, and three steals, marking the sixth game this season that the junior has collected a trio of steals. Snyder made a big impact on the boards, grabbing a team-high eight rebounds and notching three steals of her own. Her 14 points were efficient, as she shot an impressive 7-of-11 from the floor.
Junior point guard Shannon Mulroy was the third Big Red scorer in double figures, tallying 13 points and dishing out seven assists. Her seven helpers marked a season-high and matched her career-high, as well as shared the game-high with teammate McNicholas. The duo of Mulroy and McNicholas combined for 14 of the Big Red's season-high 24 assists, more than Lock Haven posted for the entire contest with 13.
Mulroy got Cornell on the board first, draining a 3-pointer on Cornell's first possession on a KC Carter feed, and the Big Red would never relinquish its lead. Mulroy's basket sparked an 11-0 Cornell run to start the game and ignited a dominant first half for the Big Red. Cornell led by a score of 28-10 at the end of the first quarter and continued to pour it on in the second, going on an 18-0 run from the 8:44 mark to 2:56 remaining in the half to open up a 46-13 lead. The Big Red entered the locker room with a 48-16 advantage that Lock Haven would have no chance of recovering from.
Cornell took excellent care of the basketball in the first half, posting just one turnover while forcing Lock Haven into 17 first-half turnovers after the Big Red's full court pressure proved effective. Cornell made the Bald Eagles pay for its miscues in the contest, scoring 33 points off of Lock Haven's turnovers.
In addition to its ability to turn Lock Haven over, the Big Red illustrated that success comes in numbers. Samantha Will scored nine points and matched a career-high three steals, Summer Parker-Hall posted a career-high nine points, and Lexi Green added seven points. Parker-Hall and Green were catalysts off the bench, along with Mia Beam and Val Garcia-Martinez, as the Big Red reserves out-scored Lock Haven's bench 27-6 in the contest.
Beam and Garcia-Martinez both scored their first collegiate points, as Beam finished the game with four and Garcia-Martinez scored three. Both Beam and Garcia-Martinez knocked down 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, capping off an impressive shooting afternoon for the Big Red. Cornell finished the contest having shot a season-best .541 from the floor (33-of-61), including .500 from long range (11-of-22). Eight different Cornell student-athletes knocked down at least one trey, led by three from Mulroy, who went 3-of-4 from behind the arc.
With the win, Cornell concludes nonconference action with a 5-6 record. The Big Red will turn its focus to Ivy League play, as Cornell kicks off its conference slate at Dartmouth on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H.
