NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – The Cornell women's basketball team (4-5) put up a heck of a fight in the second half, but a big first half from the Purple Eagles proved too much for the Big Red to overcome, as Niagara (3-4) prevailed, 76-71, on Saturday afternoon at the Gallagher Center in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Although Niagara walked away with the victory, multiple Big Red student-athletes had career days on Saturday, headlined by junior Olivia Snyder's first 20-point performance of her career. Snyder racked up a game-high and career-best 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, going a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. She added a game-high 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season.
Ania McNicholas and Theresa Grace Mbanefo joined Snyder in double figures, scoring 16 and 10 points, respectively. McNicholas' 16 points marked a career-high, and she didn't stop there, adding a career-best four assists, four rebounds, and three steals. This marks the fifth time in eight games this season that McNicholas has recorded at least three steals in a contest. Mbanefo added seven rebounds and a pair of blocks to go along with her 10 points.
Freshman guard Lexi Green settled in against the Purple Eagles, scoring a career-high eight points on 4-of-8 shooting. Green also notched a career-best two assists and two rebounds. Fellow freshman Summer Parker-Hall posted several collegiate-bests of her own, scoring four points and corralling three steals.
Despite numerous individual feats, Cornell struggled to put all the puzzle pieces together in the first half, creating an uphill battle for itself in the second. After Snyder helped Cornell take a 4-0 lead on an offensive rebound a layup and feeding Mbanefo inside for a basket, Niagara went on a 15-2 run over the next six minutes to take a 15-6 lead with 3:48 remaining in the first quarter.
Mbanefo put an end to Niagara's run with a bucket of her own, and it sparked Cornell's own run, as the Big Red would outscore the Purple Eagles 9-0 over the next two and a half minutes to knot things up, 15-15, with 1:10 left in the first. The Big Red capitalized from the charity stripe in doing so, shooting 5-of-6 from the free throw line during that time period. It was an area of the game that would allow Cornell to claw back into the contest as the game progressed, as the Big Red shot 20-of-28 (.714) for the game.
Cornell found itself trailing by three, 20-17, after the first quarter. Niagara started the second quarter on a vengeance, opening the period on a 15-0 run to blow open an 18-point lead, 35-17, with 6:14 left in the first half. The Purple Eagles' press caused problems for the Big Red, who turned the ball over 25 times in the first half.
The Big Red never hung its head, however, and continued to battle. Trailing by as many as 19 in the second quarter, Cornell closed the half on a 7-2 run to head into the locker room trailing by 14, 40-26.
Cornell started the third quarter ready to get to work, scoring the first three baskets of the quarter to cut Niagara's lead back to single digits, 40-32, with 8:28 remaining in the third. Snyder converted on back-to-back buckets, and Mbanefo scored the third with one of her own.
But after a McNicholas offensive board and put back at the 7:05 mark brought the score to 42-34, Niagara outscored Cornell, 7-2, to the media timeout at 4:37 to extend its lead back to 13, 49-36. Cornell treaded water for the rest of the quarter, not inching any closer to Niagara, but not letting them get further out of reach, trailing 59-45 at the end of the third.
The beginning of the fourth quarter mimicked the second, with Cornell scoring three-consecutive baskets to cut the Purple Eagle lead to eight, 59-51, and Niagara responding with an 8-0 run to push its lead back to 16, 69-53, with 5:35 left in the contest.
With time running out, Cornell buckled down one last time, going on a 14-2 run to slice Niagara's lead to four, 71-67, with 56 seconds remaining. KC Carter came up huge in a pivotal moment, draining a 3-pointer to get Cornell within striking distance with under a minute left to play. The basket marked three of Carter's nine points for the game on 3-of-5 shooting.
That's as close as Cornell would get, however, as Niagara would hang on for the 76-71 victory.
The Cornell women's basketball team will be back in action on Wednesday when it heads to nearby Syracuse for a 7 p.m. contest at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.
