PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Cornell women's basketball team earned its first road win of the season as it defeated Brown, 74-62, this evening at the Pizzitola Center in Providence R.I. Lauren Benson and Shannan Scarselletta registered  20 and 18 points, respectively, to lead the Big Red offense.

 

Scarselletta did her damage on the low-post, knocking down 6-of-9 shots and making 6-of-7 free throws to go along with a team-high eight rebounds. Benson, on the other hand, collected half of her career-high 20 points at the charity strip, going 10-of-14 on the evening, including seven in the final five minutes of play as the Big Red held onto its lead. Benson also handed out five assists and played a full 40 minutes for the sixth time this season.

 

Cornell (6-9, 2-1), which turned in its highest point production of the season, also got double-digits from Virginia McMunigal, who scored 12 points to go along with five rebounds.

 

Brown (3-14, 1-2) was led by Courtney Lee's 17-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Natlie Bonds registered a team-high 18 points.  

 

The Big Red shot lights out in the first half, connecting on an outstanding 60 percent (15-of-25) from the floor and 50 percent (4-of-8) from 3-point range. Cornell's shooting touch cooled a little in the second, but the team still finished with an impressive 48.9 percent (23-for-47) performance overall and a mark of 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from beyond the arc. The Bears opened the game shooting just 31 percent overall and a mere 25 percent from 3-point range, but improved slightly overall in the second half to finish the evening with a 41 percent shooting night, but went 0-for-7 from 3-point range in the final 20 minutes to connect on just  9.1 percent for the game.

 

The Bears held the slight edge on the boards, 34-32, and both teams turned the ball over 18 times.

 

Natalie Bonds scored the first bucket of the contest off a layup to give Brown the early 2-0 lead, but the Big Red responded with seven straight points, thanks to a jumper from the elbow and a trey by Benson, to make it a 7-2 game at the 18:06 mark. Cornell's offense slowed down after that, allowing the Bears to knot the game at 7-7 just over two minutes later. A long jumper by Allie Fedorowicz at the top of the key, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers from McMunigal returned the lead to Cornell, 15-7, with just under 14 minutes to play.

 

An uncontested layup by Bonds ended the Cornell run, but Scarselletta responded with a layup of her own on the other end before Allie Munson knocked down a shot to give the Big Red a double-digit lead, 19-9, with 10:36 remaining in the half. Fedorowicz upped the lead with a trey on Cornell's next possession, but a traditional three-point play by Lee made it a 22-12 game.

 

The teams traded baskets over the next several possessions but five straight points by Sarah Delk got the Bears back into the contest, as Brown made it a 32-25 game with just under two minutes to play.

 

Cornell closed out the half strong, however, scoring the final six points to take the 38-25 lead into the intermission.

 

The Big Red extended its scoring run when Scarselletta converted a traditional three-point play on Cornell's first possession of the half, but back-to-back baskets by Bonds and Lee ended the run, making it a 41-29 game at the 18:48 mark. The Big Red more than doubled-up Brown over the next five minutes as a big 3-pointer by Fedorowicz from the left corner, followed by another three-point play from Scarselletta made it a 52-33 game with just over 13 minutes to play in the contest.

 

Brown used an 8-2 scoring run to chip into Cornell's 19-point lead, before Lacey Workman nailed a six-foot jumper off a set inbounds play while being knocked to the ground to make it a 56-41 game at the 8:42 mark.

 

The Bears turned up the defensive pressure and used another scoring burst to make it a 10-point game, 60-50, with just under six minutes to play.

 

A pair of free throws by Benson on the next possession was answered by a driving layup by Lee, but a McMunigal 3-pointer from the left corner pushed it back to a 13-point advantage for the Big Red.

 

Back-to-back layups by Lee and Sadiea Williams cut the Cornell led to single-digits, 65-56, with just over two minutes to play, but the Big Red made its free throws down the stretch to take the 74-62 victory.

 

The Big Red is back in action tomorrow evening as it travels to New Haven, Conn., to take on Yale at the Lee Amphitheater at 7 p.m.