Box Score

Daemen (16-6) 28-27--55
Cornell (8-6) 37-38--75

ITHACA, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's basketball team hung tough for a half but fell 75-55 to Cornell University - of NCAA Division I and The Ivy League - today at Newman Arena.

Today's game marked the first all-time meeting between the host Big Red and the Wildcats who were gunning for their second win in program history against an NCAA Division I opponent.  Daemen defeated the University of Albany 62-55 back on Feb. 15, 2001.  Daemen is now 1-6 all-time against Division I opponents.

Cornell improved to 8-6 on the season with the victory while Daemen - ranked No. 1 in the last six successive United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) polls - fell to 16-6 after suffering its second straight defeat on the heels of five-game winning streak.

Allyson DiMagno (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) hit on 7-of-9 shots from the field and canned a team-high 17 points to lead a quartet of Cornell players in double figures.  Clare Fitzpatrick (Southbury, Conn./Canterbury) added 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Big Red.

Senior center Monica Kosior (Grimsby, Ont./Canisius College) paced the Wildcats with a game-high 22 points on 11-of-16 shooting.  She added six rebounds and three blocked shots as well.

Daemen took a 10-8 lead into the game's first media timeout at the 15:13 mark of the first half.  Kosior and senior guard Samantha Stanfield (Brooklyn, N.Y./James Madison) accounted for eight points in the early going but Cornell's Stephanie Long (Norwich, Conn./Norwich Free Acad.) hit a three-pointer when the game resumed, giving the Big Red a lead that it would never relinquish the rest of the game.

Cornell would use a 12-2 run covering nearly four minutes to establish a double figure lead for the first time (25-14) on a DiMagno jumper with 8:39 remaining in the half.

Daemen responded with a free throw by Stanfield followed by a layup by senior guard Ellie Allen (Amherst, N.Y./Sweet Home) and a three-pointer from junior guard Lindsay Stoddard (Limestone, N.Y./Allegany-Limestone) to cut the deficit to just five (25-20) with 6:06 left in the half.

Back-to-back threes from Cornell's Taylor Flynn (Floral Park, N.Y./St. Anthony's) and Long pushed the lead right back to 11 (31-20) at the 5:18 mark.

The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half until Cornell took a 37-28 lead into the break.

The basket-trading would continue to open the second half.  Kosior scored on a lay-in at the 13:33 mark to cut the deficit to just seven (45-38).  It was the fourth time in the period that Daemen trailed by just seven.

Cornell put together its signature run of the ballgame, scoring 18 unanswered to get themselves out of harms way.  The Big Red forced Daemen into eight turnovers during the run which was sparked by another Long jump shot at the 12:56 mark.  Two freebies from DiMagno capped the run with 9:43 remaining and the hosts led by 25 (63-38).

A jumper by Kosior at the 9:34 mark finally broke the Daemen scoring drought.

From there, Cornell would go on to lead by as many as 26 points until Daemen closed the game on an 8-2 run to provide the final margin.

Long chipped in with 14 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals for the Big Red.  Spencer Lane (W. Bloomfield, Mich./Detroit Country Day) added 10 points, seven assists and six steals.

Allen reached double figures for Daemen with 11 points and added five rebounds.  Senior guard/forward Chelsea Andorka (Canton, Ohio/Notre Dame College) finished with 10 points while leading the Wildcats' rebounding and assist efforts (eight rebounds, five assists).

Daemen out-shot Cornell from the field as the visitors connected on 26-of-55 attempts (47-percent).  The Big Red managed just 41-percent shooting (30-for-73).

The Wildcats could not overcome 26 turnovers and a rebounding deficit of eight (40-32).  Cornell converted Daemen's throw-aways into 31 points and grabbed 18 offensive rebounds that resulted in 14 second chance points.

Daemen will hit the long road up to northern Maine this week where it will look to right the ship with back-to-back contests against USCAA opponents.  The Wildcats face the University of Maine-Presque Isle on Friday night (Jan. 18) and the University of Maine-Fort Kent on Saturday (Jan. 19).