SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Senior forward Theresa Grace Mbanefo notched her fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, but Syracuse remained in control of the game from start to finish, defeating the Cornell women's basketball team, 85-55, on Wednesday night at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y.
Mbanefo paced Cornell in points (12), rebounds (14), and blocks (2) in the contest, with her 14 boards as the game-high. Behind Mbanefo, Olivia Snyder and Samantha Will scored seven points apiece, with Snyder adding four rebounds and a team-high three assists.
Cornell went deeper into its bench tonight, and the Big Red reserves answered the call, as 10 different Cornell student-athletes scored to help the Big Red hold the advantage in bench points for the contest, 19-17. Summer Parker-Hall and Kaya Ingram were among them, both scoring four points. Parker-Hall earned all of her points from the charity stripe, shooting 4-of-5 from the free throw line. Ingram's pair of baskets marked a career-high.
Junior guard Ania McNicholas finished the game second on the team in rebounds with six, also notching the team-high for Cornell in assists (3) and steals (2). Freshman forward Jada Davis added two points and four rebounds to go along with a career-high two assists.
The Big Red challenged Syracuse on the boards, as both teams finished the game with 39 rebounds. Cornell won the battle outright on the offensive glass, however, securing 17 offensive rebounds as compared to Syracuse's eight. Mbanefo alone accounted for six of the Big Red's offensive boards, just two shy of the entire Syracuse team for the contest.
But where the Big Red held the advantage on the boards, Syracuse made up for it in shooting presence, knocking down 12 3-pointers for the contest and shooting .414 from deep (12-of-29) to establish itself early. The Orange jumped out to a 12-2 lead just under two and a half minutes in to the game, shooting 4-of-5 from long range in the early going. It was a lead that Syracuse would build upon over the contest. The Orange also notched 13 steals as compared to Cornell's four, giving itself additional possessions to capitalize.
After trailing, 23-9, through the first quarter of play, Cornell hung tough in the second, scoring just three points less than Syracuse to head into the locker room down 39-22. A big third quarter for the Orange allowed Syracuse to run away from Cornell, outscoring the Big Red, 29-11, in the frame, to take a 68-33 lead through three. The Big Red played hard to the very end, outscoring Syracuse 22-17 in the final quarter of play and bringing the final score to 85-55 in favor of the Orange.
Led by Naje Murray's 18 points, all five of Syracuse's starters scored in double figures in the contest, including Alaysia Styles (16), Christianna Carr (12), Chrislyn Carr (11), and Teisha Hyman (11).
The Cornell women's basketball team will return to the court after finals when it takes on its second-straight Power-5 opponent in Washington State on Sunday, Dec. 19 at 3 p.m. at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
