Cornell falls prey to week’s opponents

Cornell played in two games this week, with the girls basketball program hosting Flambeau, before heading to Gilman.

Jan. 14 vs. Flambeau conference (L 58-36) The Chiefs were at home against conference leading Flambeau, with the Falcons coming in undefeated in the league. They would leave the same way, unfortunately for Cornell.

Cornell was limited to just 10 points in the first half, opposed to Flambeau’s 25. The Chiefs scored better in the second half, nearly matching Flambeau’s 33 points, with Cornell’s 26.

However, the deficit from the first half couldn’t be overcome and the home team saw Flambeau take the game, 58-36.

“We let Flambeau attack the basket and score on offensive rebound,” said coach Dave Elliott. “We attacked better on offense, but could only make 8 of 19 free throws.”

Senior Bryanna Bonander led the Chiefs with 14 points, followed by junior Alyssa Helland and senior Erin Crowell with 7. Junior Braya Duffy came in with 6 points, while junior Izzy Clark and sophomore Teaira Spaeth each had 1.

Jan. 16 vs. Gilman non-conference (L 58-24) Cornell looked to do better on the road two days later, but ran into a high-energy team in non-conference Gilman.

“We tried to slow down the game against Gilman,” said Elliott. “They are an excellent team and we needed to elevate our game to compete.”

The Chiefs were outpaced in the first half, down by 16 at halftime and couldn’t rally in the second. Gilman finished the night with a 58-24 victory.

“We did not sustain the level of play required to beat a better athletic team,” said Elliott. “We need to play much more physical than we have been.”

Crowell was Cornell’s high scorer with 9 points, followed closely by Bonander with 7 points and Clark with 6. Junior Michaiah Galster chipped in with 2 points.