Cornell’s women’s basketball team battled down to the wire with defending Midwest Conference champion Ripon in Saturday’s 59-52 setback inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
The Rams (8-9 overall, 7-3 MWC) notched a season-high 18 steals in a game they led for more than 21 minutes. Ripon (13-6 overall, 9-1 MWC) shot 50.0 percent in the second half and held off a late Cornell surge to maintain hold of second place in the league race, one game back of Knox.
The Red Hawks, winners of seven straight, built their biggest lead of the contest at 53-42 with 5:37 remaining. Cornell rallied for eight unanswered points and drew within 55-52 on a left-handed drive by Mia Murray with 1:11 to go.
Cornell came up empty on its final three offensive possessions and the Red Hawks closed it out with four free throws down the stretch.
Junior Kali March led Cornell’s defensive effort with seven steals, jumping to eighth place on the program’s single-season list with an MWC-best 70 swipes. Sophomore Karli Artman provided a spark off the bench with five steals and eight points.
Madison Wauters posted team-highs of 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Madison Osborn canned three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.
The Rams hurried Ripon into 27 total turnovers. The Red Hawks countered with a 37-23 rebounding advantage.
Ripon’s starting front line of Bonnie Jensen, Alison Leslie and Skyylar Brescia accounted for 47 points and 21 boards.
Earlier in the week, the Rams had a 57-49 win against Illinois College.
First-year A’ryn Jackson gave Cornell a huge lift off the bench and the Rams pulled away late for a 57-49 women’s basketball win over Illinois College Wednesday night inside the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
It was a career night in virtually all aspects for Jackson, who posted team-highs of 14 points and five steals to go with eight rebounds over a productive 23 minutes. The 5-foot-6 guard contributed 10 points and four steals after intermission.
Senior post Madison Wauters had her way in the paint, tallying 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. She recorded her sixth double-double of the season.
The Rams broke open a tight, intense game with a 19-12 scoring run in the fourth quarter. Madison Osborn drained a 3-pointer that pushed Cornell ahead 49-40 with 3:41 remaining.
Illinois College closed within 49-45 with 1:34 to go. Cornell answered by hitting 8-of-10 free throws the rest of the way, the final two coming from Jackson.
Sophomore Karli Artman also provided a spark in a reserve role, netting a career-best 10 points with three 3-point goals. Osborn and Kali March pitched in eight points apiece. Mia Murray added six rebounds and three steals.
The Rams finished the contest 16-of-21 shooting from the foul line and held a decisive 46-33 advantage on the boards. The Lady Blues were limited to 33.9-percent shooting from the field.