Lancers capture the victory over Chiefs in opening bout

By Ginna Young

It was off to E.C. Immanuel for the Cornell girls basketball program Nov. 27, in a non-conference opener. The Chiefs struggled to put offense on the board in the first half, going into halftime down by 25.

“We started the first half slow on offense, having trouble getting our first points on the board,” said coach Stacy Schroeder. “In the second half, we came out  stronger and were able to keep an even pace with the Lancers.”

Despite better scoring efforts, Cornell couldn’t catch up to the Lancers, but did hold the home team to just 20 points. With time not on their side to even the difference, the game went to Immanuel, 55-28.

“We got the first-game jitters out of the way,” said Schroeder.

Leading for the Chiefs, was senior Lauren Samardzich, who had had 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks. Junior Alyssa Bowe came next, with 8 points, while junior Bralee Schroeder followed that with 5 points and 4 rebounds.

Senior Teryn Close finished the night with 2 points, while freshman Haylee Ellis had 2 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and a block, and senior Grace Harycki chipped in with 2 points and 2 steals.

“The girls are still learning how to play together and with it being our first game, they did well,” said S. Schroeder. “We were happy with what we saw in the second half and we need to build on that, moving forward.”