ITHACA, N.Y. – Cornell survived a late Colgate push and found its poise in picking apart the Raiders late on its way to a 73-60 victory on Wednesday evening at Newman Arena. The win, Cornell's ninth in the last 10 meetings over the Raiders, improved the Big Red to 2-1 on the season. Colgate slipped to 0-2.
Cornell never trailed, but never felt comfortable until running away from Colgate. The Big Red led by as many as 14 points in the second quarter, but saw the lead sliced to three (48-45) in the opening two minutes of the fourth. Playing its first game of the season in front of the home crowd, Cornell embarked on a 14-2 run that all but sealed Cornell's second straight win after a season-opening buzzer-beating loss at Hartford.
Nicholle Aston registered her eighth career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while
Maddie Campbell neared the milestone with a strong eight-point, 10-rebound, seven-assist stat line in the win, as did
Nia Marshall with 16 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals. Freshman
Caroline Shelquist connected on four 3-pointers for her 12 points, reaching double figures for the first time in her career.
Kerri Moran rounded out four double figure scorers with 11 points, four assists and three steals. Cornell shared the ball, assisting on 21 of its 26 baskets and limited the Bearcats to 31 percent shooting overall.
The Big Red jumped out to an early 6-0 lead on baskets from Campbell, junior
Megan LeDuc and Marshall. After the Raiders got on the board with two, Aston answered with a shot off the glass to put Cornell up 8-2.
At the other end of the court, the Big Red continued to come up with stops, with Colgate not sinking a second basket until 7:46 into the first quarter to cut Cornell's lead to 13-5. The Raiders pulled within six, but Christine Ehland's layup gave the Big Red a 15-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was scoreless through the first 2:34 until Shelquist knocked down a three to push Cornell's lead to double digits. Shelquist hit a second from beyond the arc with 5:41 to go in the second helping the Big Red to a 23-11 advantage at the media timeout.
With 3:51 left in the half, Aston drew a shooting foul, sinking the original shot and making the free throw for a three-point play.
A pair of made free throws brought Colgate back to within eight late in the second quarter but Marshall answered with two from the stripe to give Cornell a 28-18 advantage. Marshall added a layup and another free throw before the half expired with the Big Red leading 31-20 at the break.
After the Raiders opened the second half with a 14-6 run to pull within three, LeDuc hit a three-pointer to once again make it a two-possession game. Shelquist's third and fourth treys of the night marked a career-high for the freshman and helped Cornell to a 48-43 advantage at the end of the third with Colgate putting the pressure on.
Campbell drew a foul on a shot that fell and sank the free throw early in the final stanza before pulling down a defensive rebound at the other end that led to a Marshall layup. Aston's 16th and 17th points of the game continued a 13-3 fourth-quarter run for the Big Red.
With 40.3 seconds remaining, Marshall split the defense and completed a three-point play, making her try from the line after drawing a foul on her layup to seal the win.
The Big Red return to action against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Monday, November 23 at 6 p.m. at Newman Arena as part of a doubleheader with the men's team, who plays Penn State Harrisburg at 8:30 p.m.
