Cornell Snaps Women’s Basketball Win Streak in Awaited Rematch

The Columbia Lions traveled to Ithaca this past weekend with the hope of extending their three-game winning streak. Unfortunately for the Lions, they were unable to return from upstate with a win as Cornell dropped Columbia 58-53, putting the Lions at 8-8 (1-1 Ivy).

The game was a story of two halves as the Lions controlled all aspects of the contest in the first half with the Big Red fighting back to pull out the win in the second half.

It appeared at the beginning of the game that the Light Blue had picked up from where it left off the previous weekend. Columbia came out in the opening minutes of the game with intense defense play. Prior to its matchup this weekend, head coach Paul Nixon mentioned that defense was going to be key to Columbia setting the tempo of the game. In the first half, the Lions appeared to be executing their game plan perfectly, resulting in easy scoring opportunities. Not only was their offense spectacular, but the team’s defense shined.

The Light Blue limited the Big Red to a shooting percentage of 8.3 percent, and only allowed two points in the first eight minutes of the contest. However, Cornell would fight back to make the game appear within reach by the end of the first half. Judie Lomax and Lauren Dwyer, who both had eight points before the break, led the Lions to an eight-point halftime lead. Lomax continued her strong play to the end of the contest, recording her 10th double-double of the season.

Dwyer scored the first two points of the second half, picking up from where she left off in the first, but would score only four more points in to contest to give her 13 for the game. The Big Red immediately responded with a run of their own as they outscored the Lions 15-4 to take a one-point lead. The run would ultimately be the turning point of the game as Cornell led the last 8:12 minutes of the contest.

The Big Red appeared to take a page out of Columbia’s playbook as it extended its lead via the free-throw line, a similar strategy used by the Lions in their matchup the previous weekend. The Lions tried to launch a comeback late, but were unsuccessful as the Light Blue never got closer than four point after the final media timeout. Columbia was undone by an inability to find a solution to Cornell’s post players, Allie Munson and Shannan Scarselletta, who combined for 29 points.

The Lions will look to pick up their second conference win when they battle Ancient Eight rival Yale on Jan. 30.