As their playoff hopes hung in the air, the women鈥檚 basketball team (15-11, 6-7 Ivy) entered the Pizzitola Sports Center for their Saturday afternoon matchup against Cornell (7-18, 1-12 Ivy).
The Bears needed to defeat Cornell 鈥� and hope for a Penn loss 鈥� to have any chance at making the upcoming Ivy Madness tournament.
With the postseason on the line, clutch performances by Grace Arnolie 鈥�26 and Mya Murray 鈥�24 helped Bruno secure a 75-66 victory over the Big Red. Yet even as the team won their contest, they lost out on the playoffs, as Penn (15-11, 7-6 Ivy) claimed the fourth and final spot in the tournament after upsetting Harvard (15-11, 8-5 Ivy) 69-67.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 control what other teams do,鈥� Arnolie said while Penn battled it out with Harvard. 鈥淏ut we can control how we play.鈥�
The Bears came out firing, converting the opening tipoff into an Isabella Mauricio 鈥�25 bucket just five seconds into the game. But a quick nine-point burst by Cornell extinguished Brown鈥檚 blazing start, and the Big Red overwhelmed the Bears 11-5 halfway through the first quarter. A timely three by Arnolie helped contain the onslaught of red, and Bruno managed to escape the first down 17-13.
As play resumed, the Bears blossomed, going on a 7-0 run to kick off the quarter. Brown attacked with clinical precision, spearing into the paint and drawing either fouls or points in the process.
鈥淥ur team did a good job drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line,鈥� Head Coach Monique LeBlanc wrote in a message to The Herald. That 鈥渞eflects our goal to play strong.鈥�
On the defensive end, Alyssa Moreland 鈥�26 put on her best bouncer impression, and Murray鈥檚 6鈥�2鈥欌�� frame grew into a wall the Big Red could not overcome. The dominant duo combined for 18 rebounds, two blocks and two steals over the course of the contest.
鈥淚 knew it was going to be a physical game,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what the big emphasis was going in. It was about matching their physicality and then exceeding it鈥� on both sides of the ball.
As the final two minutes of the half drew to a close, both teams were pitted in a tight contest, going shot for shot with each other. But following a key defensive stand, Arnolie found a hole in Cornell鈥檚 defense and took an open three to claim a 31-27 advantage. Seconds later, she doubled down, stealing the ball and scoring on the offensive glass to force a Cornell timeout. On the backdrop of her 16-point first-half performance, the Bears entered the locker room leading 36-31.
During halftime, 鈥渕y coaches let me know that they thought I could get downhill a lot more off the drive,鈥� Arnolie said. 鈥淭hey thought I could attack (Cornell鈥檚) defense off the dribble 鈥� And once I started doing that, it started opening up my three-point shot as well.鈥�
That鈥檚 exactly what Arnolie did, erupting the Bears鈥� offense at the next whistle. Kyla Jones 鈥�24鈥檚 play in transition, Arnolie鈥檚 precision in the paint and Olivia Young 鈥�27鈥檚 nothing-but-net three-point shooting catapulted the Bears鈥� advantage to 50-35 in the first four minutes of the half.
What had started out as a quiet afternoon in the wake of a loss turned into a raging rink of excited cheers and explosive plays. Energy pulsed through the Pizz as Arnolie delivered a 25-point performance, tying her career-high. An impossible rebound by Moreland as she lay on her back capped off the electric quarter, and the crowd burst from their seats with the Bears ahead 58-44.
Two minutes into the fourth, a Mauricio free throw secured Brown鈥檚 largest lead of the day, 64-46. But just when the game seemed almost over, Cornell went on a fourth-quarter surge. With only one minute left, the Big Red clawed their way back to a slim six-point deficit.
鈥淲e knew that today was a really important game,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淲e had to come in ready to go.鈥�
While Cornell prayed for a late upset, Brown chewed the clock. With the ball in her hands, Young watched the seconds tick, hitting a demonstrative three-pointer as the shot clock expired to put the game away. With only thirty seconds left, Cornell couldn鈥檛 come back, and the Bears took a resounding 75-66 victory.
But winning was not enough for the Bears to reach Ivy Madness, as Penn bested Harvard and punched their ticket to New York.
鈥淎ll we can do is focus on the next game,鈥� Arnolie said. 鈥淣o matter what, we鈥檙e going to try and finish the season off strong.鈥�
The Bears are set to take on Yale at home next Saturday at 3 p.m.
鈥淲inning Saturday after the disappointment of getting bounced from Ivy Madness would be a testament to our team鈥檚 character and toughness,鈥� LeBlanc said. 鈥淥ur team continues to move on an upward trajectory and we intend to keep that going in the future.鈥�
Lydell Dyer is a Senior Staff Writer for the sports section. A sophomore hailing from Bonn, Germany, Lydell is studying nonfiction English and political science, and if he's not off "making words sound pretty," you can find him lifting heavy circles at the Nelson.
