The women’s basketball team is looking to carry its momentum from last weekend’s heroics in Newman Arena to its upcoming two-game road trip. The Big Red is coming off a dramatic double-win weekend against Ivy foes Yale and Brown. Tied up in the Ivy standings at 4-4, the team is looking towards match-ups with Penn and Princeton on Friday and Saturday night.
Entering last weekend’s two home games on a three game losing streak, things were not going quite right for the women. The team played well at times before, but it could not hold on for a whole game. Then last Friday night, junior guard Deborah ‘Do’ Stevens took control. Coming off the bench, she scored a career-high 30 points for the Red. She added seven rebounds, and another career-high six steals. Stevens went 11-18 from the field, 2-3 from beyond the arc, and 6-8 from the line.
The entire team shot well, shooting 45% from the field, and going 24-28 from the charity stripe. Stevens had some help from her teammates; sophomore forward Lynell Davis tossed in ten points and grabbed seven rebounds. Junior guard Breean Walas contributed 12 points, going 7-7 from the line. Aiding the Red in its rebounding mission, freshman forward Tanya Karcic continued her outstanding Ivy play by bringing in nine rebounds. The squad dominated the second half, scoring 45 to Yale’s 21, for an 82-57 victory.
Coming off a great win, the Red was ready to tackle the visiting Brown team. The game-plan was a balanced attack, taking care of the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The women managed to force 25 turnovers from Brown, while letting only 13 of its own get away. Four team members scored in double-digits, while Friday’s phenom, Stevens, took a break but still hit eight points. Freshman Karcic and guard Karen Force, knocked in ten and 11 points respectively. Karcic also grabbed seven rebounds, including four offensive balls. Force led the team with five assists and three steals. Sophomore guard Katie Romey led the team with 14 points, going 2-3 from beyond the arc. Walas added another 12 points and four assists. Davis equaled Steven’s total of eight to aid the Red’s numbers.
The weekend’s successes brought the Red to an 11-10 mark, 4-4 in the Ivy League. The squad needs two victories out of its remaining six games to equal the record for most wins in a season. Currently tied at fourth place in the Ivies with Columbia, some more Ivy wins would help the Red on its goal of winning the League. Unfortunately, the next game for the Red is against the Quakers of Pennsylvania, who currently sport a 7-0 Ivy mark.
Penn is on an amazing 14-game winning streak, a record for the program. Its last loss was on Dec. 12th to Villanova. The Quakers are coming off a mid-week victory over Princeton, with a Tuesday night 71-57 trampling of the Tigers. Ivy star Diana Caramanico scored 29 points in the game, 18 in the second-half. She is averaging a dangerous 25.3 ppg. Cornell is part of that Penn streak, falling 69-66 to Red and Blue on Jan. 13th. Penn has won three straight over the Big Red, as well as 36 wins in their 54 encounters. Cornell plays at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night at The Palestra in Philadelphia.
After taking on the Quakers, the Red will move on to Princeton, N.J., to face the Tigers. Princeton is one from the bottom of the Ivy standings, at 1-5 in the Ancient Eight, and a 1-18 overall mark. Princeton will be coming off a Friday night contest with Columbia at home. Princeton’s Maureen Lane scored 23 points versus Penn, but the Tigers were unable to surmount a 41-24 half-time deficit.
Cornell looks to continue to improve on its rebounding, which had been an early season disappointment. The Red have managed to allow a smaller margin in rebounding, with other teams only averaging an extra 2.8 rebounds per game.
Highlights of the season have included Romey’s long-distance shooting. Making 30 out of 65 attempts she is at the top of the Ivies with her 46.2 percentage. Aiding the Red in improving its rebounding, Davis tops the squad with 5.2 grabs per game, with Karcic closely following at 5.0 per game. Fellow freshman Force leads the squad in assists, with 3.3 per game.
Free-throw shooting for the Red has been on the mark, with senior center Jennifer Linker and Walas both making over 80% of their shots. Walas also leads the league in assist/turnover ratio, at 1.4. The Red hopes the good things continue to work out and winning remains a habit for the Red.
Archived article by Cammy Kandiko