Seattle University women’s basketball jumped out to a 20-point lead in the first half and, despite allowing Cornell (4-3) within single digits in the final minutes of the contest, came away with the 52-49 win to earn the Delta Dental Thanksgiving Tournament title. This is the second straight post-Thanksgiving tournament title for the Redhawks, after defeating Portland and Sacred Heart en route to the 2012-13 tournament championship.
“You don’t need to lose to learn a lesson,” said head coach Joan Bonvicini. “There are a lot of lessons we will learn here and we weren’t as sharp as we could’ve been. But I’m really proud of some of our younger players, especially, because I thought they really stepped up when we needed them. Basketball is a game based on momentum and Cornell had a lot of momentum. But, finally, we were able to get the stops and get the win.”
Taelor Ross (Vancouver, Wash.) hit an early free throw shot before Nia Marshall countered with a jumper at 18:19, but that would prove to be the only lead of the game for Cornell. The Redhawks would go on a 7-0 run over the next five minutes on contributions by Ross, Alexis Montgomery (Beaverton, Ore.), and Wilma Afunugo (Plano, Texas).
Kerri Moran hit a jumper for Cornell at 13:23 before two scoreless minutes for either team after which the Redhawks would score 11 straight points before allowing the Big Red to score again to take a 19-4 lead at 7:22.
Allyson DiMagno added Cornell’s first points in over six minutes with a layup at 7:07, but Sylvia Shephard (Alta Loma, Calif.) would hit a three and Ross would add a layup to extend the SU lead to 18, 24-6, at 5:29.
Cornell would score five more points, three of which were on free throws, before Seattle U took their first 20-point lead, 31-11, at 1:35 on a jumper by Renee Dillard-Brown (Seattle, Wash.)
A jumper by Stephanie Long put the Big Red back within 18, 31-13, which remained the score at the halftime break.
Cornell closed the margin to as few as 13, 33-20, in the first three and a half minutes of the second half on a layup and three free throws by Marshall, but Seattle U kept a double digit lead until the 10:30 mark of the second half when Moran put the Big Red within nine, 42-33, on a pair of free throws.
Marshall would bring Cornell within seven, 42-35, at 9:57 on a pair of free throws while a DiMagno jumper and a Marshall layup would bring them within just two, 44-42 with 5:07 left in the game on a 15-2 overall run for the Big Red.
A key three-pointer by Shephard and a layup by Afunugo put Seattle U back ahead by seven, 49-42, with 3:19 remaining, but Allison Bockrath would add a three and a layup of her own, and Shelby Lyman would drive in a layup as Cornell trailed by just two, 51-49, with 1:38 left in the contest.
Looking to extend the contest, Cornell fouled Montgomery as she went 1-for-2 from the line at the 27 second mark. With four seconds remaining, Bockrath attempted to tie the game, but missed the three-pointer as Seattle U came away with the three point win, 52-49.
Ross led the Redhawks with 13 points, also adding six rebounds, while Ashley Ward (Irvine, Calif.) scored 11 and Kacie Sowell (Ventura, Calif.) grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds. Afunugo earned her first career start while Cornell’s Marshall led all players with 15 points.
SU outshot Cornell from the field (51.2 percent to 26.3 percent) as well as from behind the three-point line, while the Big Red led from the free throw line (73.9 percent to 50.0 percent). The Redhawks outrebounded the Big Red, 42-23.
After the contest, Ross was named the Delta Dental Thanksgiving Tournament MVP, while Montgomery and Shephard were also named to the All-Tournament Team. Cornell’s Marshall and Drake’s Kyndal Clark rounded out the team.
Seattle U (3-4) is set to host Oregon on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at KeyArena at 6 p.m. Stay up-to-date with the Redhawks on GoSeattleU.com, as well as “Seattle U Athletics” and “Seattle University Women’s Basketball” on Facebook, @su_athletics and @su_wbb on Twitter, and su_redhawks and su_wbb on Instagram.