Boxscore
ITHACA, N.Y. – Senior Virginia McMunigal tallied a career-high 26 points, including 17 in the decisive second half of play, as the Big Red women’s basketball team defeated IUPUI, 73-57, this evening at Newman Arena. With the win, Cornell improves to 3-2 on the season.
McMunigal’s 26 points came on 7-of-11 shooting, including an impressive 7-of-8 from 3-point range, while Lauren Benson added 13 points and seven assists. Christine Vlasic and Clare Fitzpatrick added 11 and 10 points, respectively, with Vlasic grabbing a team-high six rebounds. Allie Fedorowica also chipped in with seven assists and six points. Cornell shot 44.9 percent overall (22-of-49) and a stellar 50 percent from beyond the arc (10-for-20).
IUPUI (0-4) was led by Briannica Tye’s 14 points and Janna Eichelbergers’ 12 points and game-high eight rebounds. The Jaguars shot 42.1 percent from the floor, but just 7.7 percent (1-of-13) from 3-point range.
The Big Red held the 36-28 edge on rebounds and both teams turned the ball over 15 times.
“I was really pleased with how we handled their pressure and their press,” said head coach Dayna Smith. “I’m happy that we matched their aggressiveness in the second half and that we won the rebound battle, which is something we were focused on doing all week long.”
The game was a fairly even one in the first half with six ties and three lead changes. Neither team took more than a four-point lead throughout the first 20 minutes and Cornell erased a four-point Jaguar advantage in the final minutes of the half to knot the game at 32-32 at the intermission.
IUPUI, which shot 48.3 percent in the first half of play, scored two quick baskets at the start of the second half to go up, 36-32 at the 1932 mark, but a 3-pointer by McMunigal cut the lead to one-point. The teams continued to trade baskets until three straight points by Vlasic, followed by a trey from McMuingal gave Cornell a 43-38 lead with 13:23 to play.
The Jaguars cut Cornell’s lead back to one-point on a jumper by Clara Mitchell, but the Big Red went on a 10-2 scoring run, getting two 3-pointers by McMunigal and back-to-back layups from Taylor Flynn and Vlasic to go up, 53-44.
After trading baskets on the next several possessions, Cornell began to slowly pull away over the next three minutes, eventually going up, 65-50, on a jumper in the lane from Benson at the 2:54 mark.
Cornell outscored IUPUI, 8-7, down the stretch to take the 73-57 victory.
The Big Red is back in action on Sunday, Nov. 29, as it travels to Albany to take on the Great Danes at 2 p.m.