Katie Leonard scored 15 points and made four 3-pointers, but Cornell’s women’s basketball team lost to Syracuse 80-48 Sunday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome.
The Big Red fell to 1-2 after a two-point second quarter left it facing a 30-point halftime deficit. Syracuse improved to 2-0 behind Uche Izoje’s 22 points and eight rebounds.
Syracuse takes control before halftime
Audrey Chen’s early 3-pointer off a Clarke Jackson assist tied the game at 3 before Syracuse answered with a 10-0 run. Leonard supplied five points in the final 1:36 of the opening quarter with a pull-up jumper and a 3-pointer, but Cornell trailed 21-10.
The Orange then outscored Cornell 21-2 in the second quarter, holding the Big Red to 1-for-10 shooting. Izoje scored 18 of her points before halftime as Syracuse built a 42-12 lead.
Izoje finished 11-for-14 from the field. Tyi Skinner added 14 points and made three of her four attempts from beyond the arc, while Emely Rodriguez had 13 points and three steals.
Syracuse scored 46 points in the paint and turned 19 Cornell turnovers into 21 points. The Orange shot 53.1% from the field, held a 40-30 rebounding advantage and collected 13 steals to Cornell’s four.
Leonard and Chen lead Cornell’s second-half scoring
Cornell closed the third quarter with a 14-6 run that included a Leonard 3-pointer and a Brooke Nunnally-Gardner tip-in. Seven Big Red players scored in the period, though Syracuse still led 60-27 entering the fourth.
Chen scored eight straight Cornell points in a 49-second stretch midway through the final quarter. She made a 3-pointer, converted a three-point play after a Rachel Kaus steal and added another layup. Cornell outscored Syracuse 21-20 in the fourth.
Leonard, a freshman, scored 10 points after halftime, including two fourth-quarter 3-pointers. She finished 5-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-9 from long range, with career highs of five assists and 26 minutes off the bench.
Chen finished with 11 points and two 3-pointers. Ally Pape scored all six of her points in the fourth quarter, went 4-for-4 at the foul line and grabbed four rebounds.
Cornell shot 30.8% overall, making 16 of 52 attempts, and went 6-for-23 from 3-point range and 10-for-14 at the free-throw line. Syracuse extended its winning streak in the series to 10 games and holds a 19-4 advantage.
Before tipoff, the teams observed a moment of silence for Linda Lerch, Cornell’s head coach from 1981-88 and a longtime Syracuse basketball supporter.
Canisius visits Newman Arena on Friday
Cornell returns home to face Canisius on Friday, Nov. 13, at 5 p.m. at Newman Arena. The game will stream on ESPN+.
Canisius leads the series 7-4, but Cornell has won the past three meetings, including a 62-50 road victory last season.
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