Four points in the final 48 seconds proved to be the difference, as Cornell earned a 64-61 win over Canisius in non-league women's basketball action Friday night at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y.
A basket by Canisius sophomore Molly Mescall with 1:54 left in the fourth quarter tied the score at 59-59, but an offensive rebound and a put-back by Cornell's Grace Renner just 1:06 later put the Big Red (2-2) in the driver's seat for the remainder of good at 61-59. After the Golden Griffins (2-1) went empty on their next possession, Cornell's Aubrey Chen drilled a pair of free-throws with 15 seconds remaining to drive the home team's lead to four points at 64-59.
In the game's closing seconds, Canisius had a chance to send the game to overtime, but Cornell's Kelsey Langstone recorded her team's only blocked shot of the night as the final horn sounded.Â
Canisius junior Maria Sánchez Pitarch scored a team-high 11 points in the losing cause for the Griffs after she came off the bench and shot 4-of-7 from the field and 2-for-3 from 3-point land in 24 minutes. Gailes recorded her 13th career double-double in a Canisius uniform with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Sofia Vitucci and freshman Celina Grant added nine points, apiece. For the game, Canisius shot 46.8 percent from the field and connected on 14-of-18 shots from the free-throw line.
For Cornell, Clarke Jackson led all scorers with 16 points to go along with six rebounds, while her teammate, Rachel Kaus added 14 points, with six of those coming from the charity stripe. The Griffs out-rebounded the Big Red 34-24, with 12 of the Blue and Gold's 34 boards coming off the offensive glass.
A bucket by Jackson 2:31 into the third quarter gave Cornell its largest second-half lead at 36-30, but a traditional three-point play by Canisius senior Saige Randolph cut that lead in half at 36-30. A jumper by Vitucci knotted the game at 46-46 with 90 seconds left in the third tied the game at 46-46, and Cornell held a lead at the end of the third frame at 49-48.Â
GAME NOTES
• Friday's meeting marked the 12th contest between the two schools, with the Griffs holding a 7-5 record in a series that dates back to the 1989-90 season.
• As a team, Canisius had a season-high 11 assists in the game, with five different players recording two assists, apiece.
• Canisius has shot better than 75.0 percent from the free-throw line in each of the team's first three games.
• The Blue and Gold has won the battle on the boards in all three games to date this season.Â
UP NEXT
Canisius travels to play Syracuse on Sunday at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. Tip-off between the Griffs and the Orange is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast to a national-television audience on ACC Network.
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