Cornell’s aggressive play cannot stave off Bobcats

By Ginna Young Playing on their home court, the Cornell girls basketball program was looking for a win, Feb. 14, as they hosted East Lakeland Conference opponent Birchwood.

“We came out ready for a win, playing tough defense and being aggressive,” said coach Stacy Schroeder. “Offensively, we played well and the ball was definitely falling for us.”

The night was also marked by senior Bralee Schroeder knocking in her 1,000th point in her high school career, which was achieved just after Cornell came out of the break. That’s also when things started to work in Birchwood’s favor.

“We loosened up the defensive in the second half, as some of the girls were getting in foul trouble, which allowed them to keep pace with us a little more,” said S. Schroeder.

That unfortunately allowed the Bobcats to capitalize and claim an 87-62 win.

Nonetheless, sophomore Haylee Ellis came up huge on the night, scoring 35 points, and recording 11 rebounds and 4 assists. B. Schroeder also had a good night, with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 5 assists.

Senior Alyssa Bowe followed that up with 14 points, while sophomore Annabelle King had 9 points, sophomore Anelise Larson added 6 points and 9 rebounds, and freshman Kaitlyn Helland chipped in with 2 points.

The Chiefs are now 6-16 on the season and sit at 5-9 in the league.

“Overall, I was happy with the way the girls played and hope to continue with that,” said S. Schroeder.

Payton Birkenholz, Lake Holcombe sophomore, made her move to pull up for a shot under the basket, Jan. 31, in a match-up with Birchwood.

Photo by Ginna Young