ITHACA, N.Y. -- Cornell dominated the paint and withstood a torrid shooting night by Saint Francis (Pa.), overcoming a few tense moments late to come away with a 75-69 victory on Monday evening at Newman Arena. The Big Red won its thrid straight to improve to 3-1, while the Red Flash fell to 1-4 with the loss.

The matchup became a shootout between Saint Francis (Pa.) freshman Jessica Kovatch and Cornell's Nia Marshall. Kovatch, the nation's 16th-leading scorer and third-leading freshman scorer, had 28 points, but Marshall had 27 points, nine rebounds, five steals and two blocks to go along with the win.

The Big Red overcame 15 Saint Francis (Pa.) 3-pointers, including six by Kovatch, by shooting 55 percent from the floor and outscoring the visitors 38-8 inside. Cornell held a 40-33 edge on the boards, forced 19 turnovers with 14 steals and held off a late surge to extend its win streak to three games.

Besides Marshall, Cornell got 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists from Maddie Campbell and a career night from Christine Ehland with eight points, six rebounds and two steals in 17 minutes off the bench. The starting backcourt of Kerri Moran (four points, five rebounds, eight assists) and Megan LeDuc (nine points, six rebounds, nine assists) combined for 17 assists on the night.

Halee Adams had 16 points for Saint Francis, including hitting 4-of-6 3-pointers. But with no other Red Flash player with more than six points, it was the Kovatch show. The rookie hit 11-of-23 shots from the floor, including 6-of-13 from beyond the arc, and added three rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. She entered the game with consecutive 30-point games and nearly got a third straight.

In the first half, Cornell shot 53 percent from the floor with a dominant 26-4 edge in scoring in the paint, but eight 3-pointers by the Red Flash kept the visitors in the game. Marshall and Campbell combined for 24 points and 10 rebounds as Cornell dominated the backboards 22-13 by the break and had more assists (15) than Saint Francis (Pa.) had field goals (11). Kovatch kept the Red Flash in the contest with 14 points, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. No other visitor scored more than six points in the half.

The Big Red led by as many as 10 (49-39) with just over five minutes to play in the third as it continued to cook on the offensive end while creating turnovers on the side, but Saint Francis (Pa.) continued to ride Kovatch to stay in the contest.

Marshall picked up right where she left off in the first half, scoring six points with a steal in the span of less than two minutes to extend Cornell's edge back to nine (56-47), then got LeDuc free for a driving layup to extend the advantage to 11 on the next possession. Kovatch hit a 3-pointer to get within eight, but LeDuc answered when Moran hit her for a 3-pointer at the third quarter buzzer to go into the fourth leading 61-50.

Cornell held a comfortable lead for most of the fourth, including by 12 with a minute remaining, but two turnovers and missed four free throws allowed the Red Flash back into the game, and they delivered. Adams hit a trey and Maya Wynn banked one in with 13 ticks left to get within 73-69, but the Big Red salted the game away with a pair of free throws by Campbell with four seconds left.

Cornell returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 2 p.m. when it visits Buffalo.