Box Score
Elmira, NY – The Elmira College Women's Basketball team fought valiantly but fell just short in heartbreaking fashion to visiting SUNY Cortland, 67-64, Thursday evening in Speidel Gymnasium in the season-opening contest for both teams.
Cortland led by as many as 14 midway through the opening half taking a 24-10 lead. The team used great ball movement to get good looks inside the paint. The Soaring Eagles closed the final 10 minutes of the half on an 18-10 run to climb within 34-28 at intermission.
The Red Dragons shot 48 percent from the field in the opening stanza while EC converted on 32 percent of its field goals.
Jessica Zoltowski '14 led the way with nine points, while
Maria Thannhauser '14 added seven in the scoring column. Brittany Rando paced Cortland with 10 points.
Cortland used a 10-6 spurt out of halftime to extend its lead back to double digits at 44-34 four minutes into the second half. Over the next seven minutes Elmira responded with a 13-4 run to pull within just one at 48-47 with nine minutes remaining.
Out of the timeout EC continued its momentum with a stop and
Kelsey Geisler '15 corner three off a pass from
Zoltowski. Cortland answered back once again in the seesaw battle with back-to-back buckets to lead again, 52-50. Over the next few minutes the Red Dragons slightly increased their lead gaining a 59-55 advantage heading into the final five minutes. The Soaring Eagles continued to battle down the stretch getting back within three at 62-59, at the 2:31 mark after a
Liz Forrest '14 layup.
After a huge steal and layup by
Thannhauser EC was within one.
Zoltowski finished a lay-in with just over a minute remaining tying the game at 64 all. After Lindsey Minor converted one free throw for Cortland, Elmira had a chance for the win in the final 27 seconds. With six seconds remaining on a drive to the hoop
Thannhauser appeared to get bumped, but the play resulted in a turnover. After Rando sunk two shots from the charity stripe
Zoltowski fired a desperation three from just inside half court that was perfectly on line but fell just short for the tie.
Thannhauser led the way for Elmira with 19 points and six rebounds, while
Zoltowski added 17 points and five boards.
Alex Balara '15 tallied eight points, while
Meghan Loya '16 finished with four points, four rebounds and four assists in her first collegiate game. Grace Williamson registered 17 points and nine boards for Cortland while Sarah Seger added 16 points and seven rebounds. Rando also finished in double digits with 15 points.
The Elmira College Women's Basketball team returns to action Saturday when it travels to take on Keystone College starting at 1:00 p.m.
