ITHACA, N.Y. – Sophomore Nia Marshall scored the Big Red's final 14 points in regulation, including a traditional three-point play with 46 seconds to play, en route to a 31-point performance as Cornell defeated Robert Morris in overtime, 70-59, this afternoon at Newman Arena. She becomes the first Cornell player to register more than 30 points in a game since Mary LaMacchia registered 34 points vs. Lehigh during the 1996 season. Marshall's 31 points are the most ever for a player under Head Coach Dayna Smith and is tied for 10th most points in Cornell history for a single-game.
 
Marshall finished with a double-double, adding 10 rebounds, and filled out the stat line with four steals, two assists and one blocked shot. She also scored 14 of the Big Red's 17 second half points to keep the contest from slipping away.
 
"What a fantastic effort by Nia today," said Smith. "She was explosive getting to the hoop and she was great from the free throw line. And we needed all 31 of those points, so it was a great game by her."
 
Cornell (5-4) had three other players finish in double-digits, with Christine Kline tallying 12 points, while Kerri Moran and Megan LeDuc finished with 11 and 10, respectively. LeDuc also added eight rebounds and three assists. Nicholle Aston was also big on the backboards, finishing with nine rebounds to help the Big Red to a 42-39 advantage for the game.  
 
Robert Morris (2-8) was led by Anna Stamolamprou and Rebecca Navarro with 13 points apiece, while Shakema Dashiell chipped in 12 off the bench.
 
Cornell dominated the first half and the overtime sessions, but allowed the Colonials to use a 15-3 run over the final 8:21 of regulation to make the game a close one.
 
The Big Red played one of its best halves all season to open take a 40-25 advantage at halftime. Cornell shot 58.3 percent from the floor (14-24), was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, and assisted on 13-of-14 baskets over the first 20 minutes. The home team also held RMU to just 30 percent shooting and held the edge on the boards (19-15). Kline lead the way, not missing a single shot in the first half, going 3-for-3, including hitting both attempts from 3-point range, and knocking down all three free throws she attempted to register 10 points. She also handed out three assists and had three steals in the first 20 minutes of action.
 
"It was a tremendous first half," said Smith. "It was probably one of the best first halves I've ever seen one of my teams play. Everything was on point."
 
Kline set the tone on the game's first play, snagging the tip from Marshall and going the distance to hand Cornell an early 2-0 lead. The Colonials knotted the game at 2-2 on their first trip down the floor, but that was as good as it got, as the Big Red scored 11 unanswered points to take a lead it would not relinquish until the final moments of the contest. Marshall was instrumental during the run, scoring seven points, after Moran started the streak with back-to-back jumpers.
 
Cornell pushed its lead to as many as 18 points with 4:00 to go in the first half when a trey by LeDuc made it a 35-17 advantage.
 
Everything that went right for the Big Red in the first half, seemed to go wrong in the second, with the visitors coming out of the locker room with an aggressive defensive scheme that held Cornell to just 16.7 percent shooting overall, while going 0-for-3 from 3-point range. The Colonials, on the other hand, shot 47.8 percent overall and connected on 40 percent from beyond the arc, eventually taking its first lead of the contest, 57-54, on a deep trey from Stamolamprou with 1:11 to play.
 
On Cornell's next trip down the floor, Marshall knotted the game at 57-57 with a traditional three-point play to send the contest into overtime.
 
"We played so great those first 20 minutes," said Smith. "And unfortunately we flipped it in the second half. We're a young team and you see that with young teams. Robert Morris got more aggressive and they got us frustrated a little bit, but this is a great learning experience for us."
 
Marshall extended her personal scoring streak to 16 points when she hit the first basket in overtime at the 4:27 mark. Stamolamprou missed a 3-point attempt on the other end and Kline came down with the tough defensive rebound, getting fouled in the process, and then knocked down both free throws to make it a 61-57 advantage. On the very next play, Navarro scored the visitors' only points of the overtime session as Cornell rolled to the 70-59 victory.
 
The Big Red is back in action on Monday, Dec. 22, when it travels to Loyola (Md.) to take on the Greyhounds at 2 p.m.