Eagles Hold Off Cornell, 54-52

ITHACA, N.Y. (EMUEagles.com)— The Eastern Michigan University women's basketball team overcame a subpar shooting performance to notch a 54-52 win Friday evening, Nov. 25, against Cornell University. Senior guard Tavelyn James delivered last-minute heroics for the Eagles in a 16-point performance at Newman Arena.

Cornell held a 50-49 advantage with under two minutes to play before James drilled a three-pointer from the right side to give the Eagles a one-point lead.

After the Big Red notched the tying bucket with 24 seconds left, James filled a fast break layup on the ensuing possession to put EMU ahead for good as the Big Red failed to convert two desperation jumpers with the second bouncing off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

The Eagles (4-1) balanced their offensive struggles with strong offensive rebounding and scoring in transition. EMU tallied 14 offensive boards on the evening and racked up 16 points via the fast break.

From the field, the Green and White converted on 22-of-63 total attempts for a 34.9 percent clip. James led all scorers with 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting and 2-of-3 from three-point range.

James' 16 points increased her career total to 1,845, just 54 shy of Laurie Byrd who has 1,899 for top spot on the EMU career scoring list.

Senior forward Paige Redditt also hit double figures, going 5-of-11 and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe for 11 points.

Redditt and junior center India Hairston hauled a team-best in nine rebounds apiece for the Eagles, who were edged by Cornell, 39-34, in that category.

Cornell falls to 1-4 on the season despite three of its players reaching double figures. Clare Fitzpatrick and Allyson DiMagno each scored 14 points while Maka Anyanwu chipped in with 12 in a losing effort.

As a team, Cornell shot 21-of-49 (42.9 percent) from the field and just 2-of-11 from long range.

Eastern Michigan is now 3-0 all-time against Cornell and 4-0 versus Ivy League opponents.

Action began with the two teams at opposite ends of the offensive spectrum as the Eagles shot just 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from the field through the first eight minutes. Meanwhile, the Big Red sunk six of its first eight shots to take a 14-13 lead with 11:59 remaining in the half.

Cornell's lead grew to 26-19 with 4:33 to play after DiMagno hit her second triple of the game and Shelby Lyman put in a layup on consecutive possessions.

Nearing halftime, the Eagles cut into their deficit with six straight points to once again make it a one-point affair, 26-25. With 33 seconds remaining, junior guard Taylor Bird hit a rainbow three-pointer from the right side of the arc to cap-off a 9-0 run and send EMU into the locker room with a 28-26 advantage.

The first half concluded with the Eagles shooting 11-of-33 overall (33.3 percent) and 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) from three-point territory with Bird accounting for both long range buckets. Bird and James led the way at halftime for EMU with six points apiece.

For the Big Red, DiMango was 2-of-3 from behind the arc and 4-of-4 from the free throw line to lead all scorers with 10 points at the break. As a team, the Big Red shot 10-of-22 (45.5 percent) from the floor.

A large portion of the second half was dominated by back-and-forth action with both teams notching several key blocks under the bucket.

The Eagles pushed their lead to as much as four, 48-44, when sophomore forward Olivia Fouty scored from beyond the arc with 6:54 remaining.

Cornell took the lead, 50-49, with 3:40 to play on a bucket by Anyanwy. That score held until the 1:51 mark, when James fired from long range for her second three-pointer of the evening to put the Eagles back on top, 52-50.

Looking to force overtime, Fitzpatrick put down an off-balance jumper with 24 seconds left to tie the score, 52-52.

James wasted no time in putting the Eagles ahead for good as she raced the length of the court on the ensuing possession and filled a fast break layup.

The Green and White will stay in the Empire State for game four of its five-game road swing Sunday, Nov. 27, with a 2 p.m. tilt at Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y.

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Team Stats

Tavelyn James

Paige Redditt

India Hairston

Olivia Fouty

Eastern Michigan Athletics