LEWISBURG, Pa. – Cornell stormed back from a 28-21 halftime deficit to get within one-point of Bucknell, but the Bison used a 16-2 run over a four minute span late in the second half to earn a 59-51 victory in their home opener, halting the Big Red's three-game winning streak.
 
Cornell (3-3) was led by Christine Kline, who filled out the stat line with a team-high 10 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.  Maddie Campbell finished with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Kerri Moran tallied nine points and three assists. Megan LeDuc also chipped in eight points.
 
Bucknell (3-2) was led by Claire DeBoer with 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Audrey Dotson and Megan McGurk chipped in 10 and nine points, respectively.
 
The Big Red shot just 28.3 percent from the floor (17-60) while Bucknell used an impressive second half to finish at 46.8 percent overall (22-47). Both teams were an identical 30.8 percent (4-13) from 3-point range. The Bison held a significant 43-27 rebounding advantage, but Cornell forced the home team into 24 turnovers with 12 steals, while turning the ball over a season-low 12 times.
 
The game started as a back-and-forth affair with four ties over the first seven minutes of play. While the teams continued to trade baskets, Bucknell hit three consecutive treys from three different players to help turn an 8-8 tie into a 19-13 advantage with 9:45 to play in the first half.
 
A layup from Claire Maree O'Bryan gave the Bison its largest lead of the half, 23-15, but a foul line jumper from Marshall, followed by a deep jumper from Campbell got Cornell back into the contest, trailing 23-19, with 3:00 on the clock.
 
Three consecutive Bucknell free throws and a layup at the buzzer by DeBoer, sandwiched around an offensive rebound put-back by Christine Ehalnd, sent the home team into the break with the 28-21 lead.  
 
Cornell shot just 28 percent in the first half (7-25) and missed both of its 3-point attempts, while the Bison shot 34.5 percent overall (10-29) and 30 percent form long distance (3-10). The Big Red forced Bucknell into one extra turnover (9-8) with five steals, but the bigger Bison held the significant 23-15 advantage in rebounding.
 
The Big Red turned up the defensive pressure in the second half, forcing 15 turnovers eight steals to counterbalance a hot shooting Bison squad that connected on a blister 66.7 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes.
 
Kline set the tone early in the second half with a great steal and layup before a hard fought layup by Marshall as the shot clock expired made it a one-possession game, 28-25.
 
Bucknell finally scored its first points of the second half on a layup from McGurk with 17:04 to play but another steal  lead to a bucket by Nicholle Aston on the other end to make it a 30-27 game with just over 15 minutes to play.
 
Kerrri Moran's first points of the contest made it a one-point game and the teams traded buckets with a deep jumper by Dotson answered by a beautiful fastbreak layup from Aston to make it a 32-31 Bucknell lead with 12:07 on the clock.
 
A pair of made free throws by DeBoer opened up the decisive 16-2 run that seasled the game for the home team. The run ended with the Big Red's first trey of the day, coming from Campbell to make it a 48-36 game with 6:47 to play.
 
A steal by Taylor DePalma, followed by a 3-pointer by Moran got Cornell back to within single digits, 48-39, but a layup from Micki Impellizeri started another Bison run that saw the home team take its largest lead of the game, 57-42, with 2:45 to play.
 
Cornell refused to give up, however, and closed the game on a 9-2 run to account for the 59-51 final.
 
The Big Red is back in action with a pair of home games next week leading into the study break. Cornell will take on Buffalo on Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m., before welcoming Bryant on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 2 p.m.