Boxscore

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – With 5:40 left to play in the Cornell women's basketball game vs. Yale, senior Lauren Benson reached a career milestone, as she tied Karen Force '04 with 459 career assists to become the Big Red's all-time leader with 459 helpers. Benson finished the game with five assists. The record-tying assist came on a 3-pointer by Allie Fedorowicz, who led Cornell with 20 points in the 74-50 loss to Yale this evening at Lee Amphitheater in New Haven, Conn.

Fedorowicz went 4-for-7 from 3-point range and with those four treys, she moved into second place on Cornell's career 3-pointer list, also surpassing Force with 130 career 3-pointers. The only other Big Red player in double-figures was Connecticut native Clare Fitzpatrick, who scored 10 points in front of a large contingent of friends and family. Fitzpatrick also registered a team-high five rebounds.

Yale (8-11, 3-2) has three players in double-digits, led by Mady Gobrecht (13), while Melissa Colborne and Michelle Cashen chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively. Cashen registered a double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds.

The Big Red started the game shooting well, connecting on 38.7 percent overall and 66.7 percent from 3-point range in the first half, but went cold in the second half to finish the game at 29.3 percent overall and 46.2 percent from beyond the arc. Yale also saw its shooting percentage drop significantly in the second half, but managed to end the game at 46.3 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from 3-point range.

The Bulldogs held a significant advantage on the boards, 44-31, but both teams had 19 turnovers. Cornell registered 13 steals, with Fedorowicz leading the way with three.

Yale jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on back-to-back layups by Cashen and Gobrecht before a 3-pointer by Fedorowicz made it a one-point game. A trey by Ashley Carter, followed by a layup from Haywood Wright extended the Bulldog's lead to 9-3, but once again Fedorowicz got the Big Red into the contest with an unconventional four-point play, converting a free throw after nailing a 3-pointer from the top of the arc to make it a 9-7 Yale lead.

A 10-3 scoring run put the home team up, 19-10, at the 14:02 mark. During the run, Cornell's lone points came on a 3-pointer by Taylor Flynn. Fedorowicz ended the Yale run with a jumper from the right elbow, but the teams traded baskets on the next five possessions, making it a 27-17 game with just under 11 minutes to play in the first half.

Both teams went cold for the next two minutes, with just a single made free throw by Gobrecht accounting for the scoring before a jumper in the lane by Fitzpatrick made it a 28-19 game at the 8:23 mark.

The Big Red turned up the defensive pressure to force several turnovers and outscored Yale, 8-6, over the next four minutes to cut the Bulldog lead to 34-27 with 3:51 to play. During the run, Cornell got four points from Fedorowicz, as well as a fast-break layup from Fitzpatrick and a basket from Spencer Lane.

Back-to-back layups from Gobrecht and Cashen pushed the Yale lead back to double-digits and a 12-foot jumper by Whitney Hagan was answered by a layup from Colborne in the closing seconds of the half, as she sent the home team into the locker room with a 40-29 advantage.

Cornell opened the second half with a 10-foot jumper from Fitzpatrick on the right wing, but 11 unanswered points pushed the Yale lead to 51-31 with just over 14 minutes to play. At that point, Coach Smith went to her bench, putting five freshmen – Flynn, Lane, Hagen, Kristina Danielak and Caitlin Costello – into the game. The rookies held Yale scoreless for nearly four minutes, but only Lane managed to hit a shot during the stretch, making it 51-33. Six straight free throws ended the Bulldogs' scoring drought, as Yale took a 58-33 lead with 9:18 to play.

Virginia McMunigal scored her first points since suffering an injury on Jan. 16 with a 3-pointer at the 7:05 mark, but it wasn't enough to spark a Cornell run as Yale rolled to the 74-50 victory.

Cornell (5-13, 0-5) is back in action tomorrow night, Saturday, Feb. 6, as it travels to Providence, R.I., to take on Brown at 7 p.m.