Cornell (7-9, 1-1 Ivy League) came away with a solid win, 54-44, on the road, defeating the Columbia Lions (2-14, 0-2) this Saturday.
The Red had a successful campaign over winter break, adding three games to the ‘W’ column in contests against Bucknell, Fordham and Nebraska, before going on to beat Ithaca and Columbia on the final weekend. The victory this Saturday marked the team’s first conference win, as last year’s Ivy champion, Princeton, defeated them the weekend before.
“It was a good game for us,” said junior forward Clare Fitzpatrick. “We’d lost to Princeton, and we really wanted to prove that we can get a win on the road. It was definitely a good road win for us.”
The game started off slowly for Cornell, as Columbia took the initial lead by five points before the Red put any points on the board. However, the team soon gained momentum and secured the lead, which it maintained for the rest of the game.
“We were up by six or so at the half,” said junior guard Spencer Lane. “We had momentum. They closed it to a ten point game … But we kept them underneath our lead.”
In the second half Cornell increased its lead to 16 points over the Lions three different times.
“We were confident we could get things going in the second half,” Fitzpatrick said. “We came out with more energy … Our defense played a really good game.”
The Red played a zone defense for the majority of the game, which has been one of the team’s developing strengths over the past few weeks.
“Overall, we played great team defense,” Lane said. “It’s a good look for us. We played a fast paced game … But gave up some offensive rebounds, which is something that we have to clean up for the next game.”
Fitzpatrick agreed that rebounding would definitely be a focus for the team this week at practice.
“We got outrebounded, but that’s something we’re going to work on,” she said. “We’re going to keep trying to execute our offense … When we create shots for each other, that’s when we’re most effective.”
The game ended with sophomore guard Allyson DiMagno scoring 13 points, junior guard Taylor Flynn chipping in 10 and Fitzpatrick notching eight.
The next game for Cornell is against Penn this weekend, where the team will look to continue its road winning streak.
“We have to continue to work hard, work on rebounding, clean up a few things here and there and keep progressing,” Lane said.
Original Author: Rebecca Velez